Nice Girls
by Missile.x
Summary: When Klavier called upon Vera to check on her weeks after her father's death he didn't really know what he hoped to find - acceptance, the person who he really was or maybe even friendship? He certainly didn't expect to find love.
1. A courtesy call

**NOTE: I wrote the first few chapters of this months and months ago and have since read this, edited and added. Unfortunately, I'm not not 100% sure where i'm going with this story. Probably romance, but possibly just friendship? Either way, hope anyone who reads this enjoys it. If i get reviews i'm likely to continue as this story has got some potential i think.**

**Now, onto the story:**

**Chapter one - A courtesy call**

Klavier put his guitar down and stretched, putting his arms into the air and grimacing a little. It was a warm and sunny day and the type of day which, ordinarily, Klavier Gavin would've enjoyed a huge amount, but today? Nah, he wasn't feeling it. It'd been a good three weeks since his brothers other misdeeds had been discovered and on one hand he felt Kristoph deserved everything he'd gotten. Of course, to Klavier (who was only human, after all) everything had had happened had been a bit of a shock to him. The few weeks had been a bit of daze and almost didn't feel real.

He remembered feeling like this when Kristoph's first murder had been discovered. Obviously, it was more of a shock then, though. I mean, to Klavier, Kristoph had been something of a mentor, big brother and a father figure, all rolled into one and it was altogether foreign seeing him as a cruel murderer. Murdering someone for not choosing him as their attorney, killing a (for the most part) innocent man and poisoning a young girl? That wasn't the Kristoph he'd known.

He sat for a while musing over the people that Kristoph had hurt. That poor Misham girl no longer had a father and it was the same for Trucy Wright.

There was stupid part of him that felt guilty. Klavier knew he shouldn't, _he_ certainly hadn't done any of those things and yet, none the less he was certainly embarrassed about the things his brother had done. Perhaps it was Klavier's responsibility to apologize? Kristoph certainly couldn't and frankly, Klavier doubted he was sorry anyway.

He stood up, deciding to take action and do something about the guilt he felt of his brother's behalf. He knew Trucy was fine. She had Phoenix Wright to look after her. Vera Misham had no one. He made his choice to go round and see her tomorrow, just to check she was okay and say sorry.

He knew exactly where her flat was as he'd spent so much time in it during the case of her father's murder. It was rather small and pokey and the building itself was ugly made of grey concrete. He knocked, somewhat gingerly. He had to admit he was nervous. He had no idea what kind of state she might be in. She could be angry or worse crying? It had after all, only been a few weeks since her father had been murdered and it was his brother's fault.

It wasn't long before she answered. The door opened slowly and there Vera Misham's face was, peering around the door, nervously. She was obviously surprised to see him standing there on her doorstep, because she looked rather taken aback and didn't say anything.

"Ah, hi, Vera, um, may I come in?" Not his usual confident and cocky tone he had to admit. She nodded and he followed her in through the doorway.

They both sat down on the sofa and Klavier opened his moth to speak but Vera already said something quietly.

"Um, can I ask what this is about?"

"Y-yeah of course." He suddenly twigged why she looked so terrified. "Oh god, no don't worry, you're not in any trouble. This is actually a courtesy call-"

She nodded, shyly. "Oh, right. Thanks." She replied as if not really sure what to say about this. She probably didn't. He knew she was shy and awkward around people she barely knew.

_God this is awkward_ he thought, practically cringe inducing. _Could she make it any clearer that she doesn't want me here? Hell, can I blame her? "Oh, hey, Vera. Just your father's murderer's brother popped round for a little chat. You doin' okay since my big bro poisoned your Dad? Yeah? Okay, see ya' round, then."_

"Look Vera. This isn't easy for me to say. I'm not really big on apologies, haha, probably because I'm never wrong." _God, Klavier, don't crack bloody jokes. She's not exactly gonna' appreciate them, is she? Heck, that one wasn't even funny._ "Um, well, I guess I just wanted to say sorry on behalf of Kristoph. You're not the only person he hurt but I think you're the one he probably hurt the most. So I felt I owe you an apology."

Weirdly, the first expression on her face was one of embarrassment.

"Oh! Thank you, but you really don't have to Mr. Gavin. It's not your fault."

He knew she'd say that. From where he was sitting it seemed that Vera Misham didn't think she deserved much, let alone an apology.

"See, that's the thing, It may not be my fault but I just wanted to let you know, not all of the Gavin family are like that. It's just Kristoph. He's always been a little weird but I never saw any of this coming. There are good people in this world."

Her reply was simple.

"I know."

He was pretty surprised by this. He knew she'd been locked away all of her life, until her father's death. And since then she'd been pressed to the point of breaking, poisoned and taken to hospital. Vera certainly hadn't seen the best that life had to offer.

". . . You do?" he asked tentatively.

She smiled and nodded.

"Yes. I was so scared of the things outside my front door that I didn't realize there were things just as scary behind the door with me. Like staying inside and not living life."

"Well said-" he admitted. _Well said indeed._

"And there are nice people like Apollo and Trucy. They've been so kind to me. They even offered to . . . ".

"What's wrong, Vera?" he asked as she trailed off, looking rather troubled.

"It-it's not easy trying to, well, get out there and live life. It's so . . . daunting on your own."

He didn't know what was more surprising. The fact she had actually opened up and told him or how it had seemed like something she'd found easy to do.

"I think I see what you mean." He said, attempting to create some kind of solution for the problem, after all, he felt it was the least he could do.

"Please, don't get me wrong. Apollo and Trucy have visited and everything. But . . . I feel like an inconvenience. And now they've got a new case they're going to be able to visit less."

There was something in her eyes at that moment that made Klavier Gavin incredibly sad. Something like a sense of longing or perhaps fear? - A desperate fear, not to be left alone like she had been for so long.

"I could help you." He said. He really could. She'd certainly be learning from the best. Klavier was definitely a sociable person and without his band he had plenty of spare time. He didn't even have any trials since he'd taken a vacation from prosecuting while Kristoph's betrayal was sinking in- again.

Vera blushed a little.

"Oh no, I really couldn't ask you to do that-"

"Why not? I have lots of spare time and it's the least I can do to make up for what Kristoph did."

She bit her lip a little as if unsure of what to say. He could tell she wanted to but she was so conscientious that she was concerned that Klavier was merely being nice and would actually be very put off should she agreed to this arrangement.

"Vera, please let me make this up to you." He knew it was stupid but he felt like if he could just help Vera, find who she was maybe he'd be able to discover himself a little more. He'd always been so influenced by his brother and it had worried him to discover who that influence in his life had really been. It had made him doubt himself and Klavier needed to rediscover, or maybe even reinvent himself, if that person turned out to be someone he didn't like.

"I-I guess . . . if you have enough time-"

"I do-"

"I'd hate to inconvenience you-"

"You really won't be. Trust me; I really do want to help you."

"Hmm . . . okay. Err, how are you going to though?"

". . . Ah . . . "

Klavier hadn't really thought of this yet. How were you to help someone discover the outside world? He thought for a moment with a perplexed look upon his face.

"Well, I guess I'm going to a-company you outside . . ."

She nodded and waited for him to continue.

"And then . . . uh, then-"

Then an idea hit him; a simple one albeit but, an idea none the less.

"We're going for a walk in the park."


	2. Complications

Klavier could tell Vera was incredibly nervous as they stepped outside her door and down the steps out of her flat. For one she hadn't said anything to him for a while. Not since she'd agreed to go on the walk. After that she'd gone to the toilet, had a drink of water and searched the entire flat for her keys, the whole time not saying a word to Klavier. Perhaps her shyness could be something they could work on?

The idea of a walk in the park seemed like a good one to him because it was such a simple, ordinary thing to do. It was important for her to get used to being outside and seeing other people without panicking and where better than a public park?

They reached the bottom of the steps in silence.

"So-" Klavier began deciding it might be a good idea to start a conversation. "Err-" He paused. Why the hell couldn't he think of anything? He swallowed and searched him mind for something, anything that might get Vera talking comfortably. Luckily Vera didn't seem to have noticed this pause as she suddenly turned round and raced back up the steps and frantically scrabbled with her keys. Apparently she'd forgotten to lock the door.

"Here, let me do that." He took the keys she seemed to be struggling with and lock the door easily before handing them back to her.

She looked embarrassed and steadily gazed down at the steps as they walked back down them.

"Thanks . . . you must think I'm really weird." She said still not looking up.

He furrowed his brow.

"Why would I think that?" he asked her feeling genuinely confused as to why she would think that.

"Well, because I don't even know how to lock a door properly. That's the tenth time I've done that since I've started leaving the house. And they only reason I remember to lock it was that Apollo or Trucy reminded me."

He smiled at her. "In that case you're certainly improving. No one reminded you this time. See, you remembered on your own."

She finally looked up with an odd impression. Not only did she seem happy but she actually seemed pleased with herself. He'd never seen her look that way before as he was sure she never really allowed herself to have any of the glory in these kinds of situations.

As they walked down the pavement the atmosphere seemed a little less awkward. He vowed to start a conversation and not allow it to set back in again.

"So, it must have been a weird few weeks then?" he asked kindly looking over at her as they walked side by side in the direction of the park.

She looked down at this. "W-well yeah, I guess it has been."

_Hmm, this is going to be harder than I thought. If I could just get her to relax around me then maybe she'd find it easier to talk? Hmm, what makes a relaxed atmosphere?_ he thought for a moment. Right now, he was asking her lots of questions about her life and how she was. _I bet she feels like she's under integration_. _Perhaps if I talk about myself a lot she'll realize I don't find this a difficult situation and she doesn't need to either._

"God, it's a great day huh, Fraulien? Would've been great for a rehearsal." Okay, _shaky conversation starter but I think I'll talk about my recently split up band._

As they approached the band stand in the park Klavier let out a deliberate sigh.

"Good times." He reminisced, staring up at it and not saying anything for a moment.

"Do-do you miss your band, Mr. Gavin?"

_Hmm, okay, good start but I'll have none of this "Mr. Gavin" stuff._

Klavier nodded. "Yeah and please, it's Klavier, not Mr. Gavin outside court." He smiled. "It's like The Gaviners were a huge part of my life which is just gone now. It's weird. We can't even have a farewell gig because one of our guitarists is in jail.

"What did he do?" she asked nervously. He wasn't sure he wanted to tell her, though. She didn't need reminding of murder. All the same he didn't feel he could lie.

"He was accused of murder. "

"Uh . . . oh, do you know if it was really him?" She asked with genuine care in her voice, clearly sensing it was a sensitive topic.

"Oh yeaaah, It was definitely him. I should know. I was prosecutor for the case." He answered her, his eyebrows raised a little. He shook his head. "That really wasn't a fun three days. The concert was good though." He added dryly.

His best friend had ended up in jail. He wished he didn't miss Daryan so much. Then he'd have been able to hate him for what he did.

"Do you miss him?"

"Wow, I'm not good at hiding my feelings am I? Yeah, he was my best friend . . . but, he had to pay the consequences for what he did though, didn't he?"

Vera nodded. "I agree. Sometimes you don't think about the repercussions of your actions. I know I never thought about the terrible things that my forgeries might do when I created them. I lost poor Mr. Wright his job and he went through all that effort to save me when I was accused. He forgave me." She sniffed and looked over at Klavier. "Did you forgive your friend?"

For a second he thought she was making a point about forgiveness and lightly scolding him for not doing what Phoenix Wright had done. He then realized she was actually just inquiring about how he'd left things with Daryan.

"I-I didn't really. I didn't think I could. He knows as well as I do that he and I are like brothers. And let's face it, my brothers have a habit of betraying me sooner or later but . . . well, that's not to say I don't, you know, um , you know."

She didn't say anything in return so he guessed that she didn't know.

"Look, what I'm trying to say that they have my um, unconditional uh, love." _Well there, I said it. Oh god, there's nothing wrong with admitting you love your brother but, there's something very gay about the fact I just admitted I love Daryan, even if it is in a brotherly way._ "You've no idea how much he'd be laughing at me if he were here right now." This made Klavier laugh a little too at the idea of him actually saying something like that to Daryan.

""Unconditional love"?" Vera asked. She looked a little confused. _Surely she knows what that is. Klavier thought to himself._

"Basically, it's like . . . "Klavier tried to think of an example. "Um, imagine . . ." he pointed at a man with brown hair sitting on a bench, "Imagine that man over there lied to you about something."

Vera nodded. "Um, okay."

"Well, obviously you have no emotional attachment to him and you don't know him, do you? You wouldn't be emotionally hurt or upset that this man's lied to you. You'd just be slightly bemused and wouldn't trust him again."

"I would." She agreed warily.

"Now imagine that- who do you love the most in the world, Vera?"

"My Dad," Vera answered.

"Okay, imagine that you found out he'd told you a lie before he died and you found out the truth. You wouldn't love him any less would you? You'd be annoyed and upset because it hurts to be lied to. But you'd forgive him for pretty much anything and _that's_ unconditional love." Klavier looked away and up at the band stand. "Yeah, it's not a good thing really. It means that if the people you unconditionally love aren't very nice people, they might start to take advantage of you."

"Yes but, then surely you would have to consider whether or not that person is worthy of your unconditional love."

He had to hand it to her. Vera was very wise, surprisingly so for someone who'd been locked away inside for so long.

_Unfortunately, generally it's too late by then. They've already hurt you_. he thought to himself, full of angst. He didn't want to bring Vera down though as they'd been chatting a while and she seemed to have completely forgotten that she was outside, talking to someone she didn't know all that well, so he just said-

"Exactly, which is why generally, people reserve their unconditional love for close friends and family. Otherwise, they'd get hurt way too much."

"I see." She said. "Sorry. I know it's probably weird how you have to explain things like that to me when normal people know them. I just-"

"Frauline, believe me, you're not weird or odd. You _are_ a normal person and an extraordinarily innocent and naive one at that. You've just been brought up differently, you know, in a very sheltered and protected way."

They walked away from the bandstand now in the direction of the gardens. Vera smiled a little. "Mr. Gav- I mean K-Klavier, do you think I can ever be, um, normal?"

"Everyone's different so I'm not one hundred per cent sure what you consider to be normal-"

"Oh-"

"But, I do think that you can become relaxed in ordinary situations. You're improving loads already, Frauline Vera." He winked at her. _Crap, what the hell __**was**__ that? God, it was like I was coming onto her or something._ Surely she'd perceive the wink as a friendly thing though, right? Anything like that was so unbelievably inappropriate it wasn't worth thinking about.

Vera merely smiled hopefully and went on to say- "I hope so. I know it sounds weird but, this has helped so much already. Thanks so much Mr. Gavin."

He smiled back, "You really have come a long way in just a few hours."

"I know," she replied, "all thanks to you though. Otherwise I'd probably just be at home on my own."

"-And you're not feeling anxious about being outside or anything?" he said, worried she may just be putting on a brave face in front of him.

But she merely shook her head. "Strangely, not at all. I know I'm safe with you Mr. Ga- Klavier." And then the strangest thing happened. Vera Misham blushed a bright red colour and looked away as if terrified Klavier might see. However, Klavier shoes to ignore this.

"Err, Vera. I think you've caught the sun a little. We'd best be getting back before any serious damage is done."

"Ah, err, okay. Let's go then."

He hadn't really known what to say. Vera really had come a long way and he was very proud of that. It seemed clear to him that it had something to do with his help and somehow she'd attained a little crush on him.

_Ah well_, he thought. _It's only natural. She hasn't spent much time around the opposite sex has she? I'm probably just an interesting novelty that she's not used to._

They turned and they began walking in the opposite direction they'd came from and as they did Vera took his hand and once again turned bright scarlet.

_Oh dear, this could complicate things a little._


	3. Klavier's mystery girl?

Klavier was anything but shy around women. In fact, if anything, he was something of an expert. He knew what they liked, what made them tick and they certainly liked him. With his status as a "rock star" he knew he could anyone he liked but he wasn't especially fussy. He had a gift and that wasn't playing the guitar, necessarily. He knew they liked being listened to, they liked being made to feel special and though he wasn't that into romance, he knew they _loved _romance.

He liked taking them out on expensive dates, money wasn't an issue and paired with the rock star thing, a moonlit walk on the beach before going back to his flat doubled his chances of sex. He wasn't bothered about body shape either. There wasn't a formula for a beautiful woman is his opinion. He either found them attractive, or didn't. There was only one thing he tended to try and steer clear of-

Fan girls. He'd never dated his hardcore fans and never told the media this. After all, then the fan girls might pretend to never of heard of him just so they could date him. He wasn't a modest kind of guy. It wasn't that he couldn't take someone being _that_ into him, but he'd had a bad experience when his band had started to really kick off. He'd gone out with a beautiful girl called Mellony who was a massive fan of the Gaviners. They'd gone out a few times, slept together (of course) but it was nothing serious. He didn't really want to settle down with anyone and so he'd broken up with her and hadn't expected to see her again. Unfortunately, Mellony had other ideas. She came to his house every morning as if they were still together, she rang him all the time, so much that he had to get his number changed. Eventually things got so bad he was forced to get a restraining order against her. The whole event, needless to say, had put him off dating girls like her.

The point was that Klavier was utterly comfortable around women. He didn't get nervous or sweaty like some men did. It just felt natural. But words could not describe how odd he felt when Vera took his hand In the park. He felt his heart stop for a second and his muscles all tense up.

_What is she doing?_ He thought to himself. _Is she insane? She can't walk around a park holding hands with Klavier Gavin. What will the media say? _

He instantly withdrew his hand from her clasp. "Uh, look, Vera, um, I can't really do that with you. If a newspaper was to see, well, you know, I wouldn't want _anyone_-" he put extra emphasis on the last word, "-to get the wrong idea about our relationship as _friends_."

She stared at him blankly for a moment, her hand now hanging limply by her side. "But I don't understand. We are friends . . . so why does it matter if the newspaper sees us holding hands. Or together."

They were out of the park now, walking along a street with multiple shops, moving again. Klavier was silent, trying to think of the best way to explain this to her.

"Vera, look, come in here a second." He led her into a corner shop, praying no one would recognize him, walking her over the magazine's section. Her eyes scanned across the rack, each colourful magazine with a different stranger on the front, covered in bold statements. Klavier picked one of the more popular ones up, with a couple holding hands and smiling at each other .

"See that girl?" He said, pointing. "She's famous. Practically everybody knows who she is. She's on television but she has a real life too, not acting. Let's look at this caption." It read "_Kate's new mystery man?_". The picture, the caption, it sort of gives the idea that...how can I put it? They're um, romantically involved, just because they're together and smiling at each other when this isn't necessarily true. They could be old friends or cousins or anything really but the media presents what's potentially complete fiction as though it were confirmed facts. Do you see why people can't see us holding hands in public? Because even though we're friends, you could easily be turned into "_Klavier's mystery girl?_".

He put the magazine back on the rack, left and they walked in the direction of her flat again.

"Why would someone do that though? Or, more than asking that, why would anyone believe it? Don't people see that it's all based on wild assumptions and leave their minds open to the idea it might be wrong?"

Klavier curled the corner of his mouth, thoroughly pleased with himself. That was possibly the most he'd ever heard Vera say, while not on the witness stand.

"You know what, Vera? Being a rock star would be whole lot easier if everybody thought the same as you."

She returned his smile. It was timid, but a smile non-the-less. They were at her door now. There was a slight awkward silence, reminiscent on Klavier's part, of the end of a date where both people start wondering what's going to happen next.

" . . . Thanks." she said, looking at the floor. "I already feel a bit better-"

Klavier grinned, "Glad to hear it. So, same time tomorrow?"

"Yes please."

"Alright. Bye Vera."

"Bye Klavier . . . thanks again." she whispered the last part after he was gone. She knew he'd only point out that she'd already thanked him. Thing was, she wasn't sure he'd never know just how thankful she really was.


	4. Relationship related woes

**Here's the next chapter – not hugely eventful but them this isn't exactly an action packed fanfiction. Still not sure where I want this to go really. Oh well, I'm sure it'll just come naturally, eventually. **

After Vera had shut the door that once again left her alone in her flat she leaned against it and looked around the lonely space. The house was a mess, to say that least. She'd left dried up paint on many of her pallets and art materials lay strewn messily on most of the surfaces, many tainting the once clean furniture. She sighed. "Perhaps I should . . . clean up?"

She said aloud even though there was no one to hear her. She'd taken to doing that lately. Vera had spent so long being mute that she liked to remind herself of what her spoken voice sounded like. She knew it didn't exactly make her look sane, but she didn't care much as no one was around to know. Besides, she found it stopped her from getting so lost in her own thoughts.

Busying herself with chores wasn't exactly fun but she felt restless. Like she was unsure of what to do with herself and cleaning provided a welcome distraction. There was still lots of the day left and she couldn't help but wish her walk with Mr. Gavin, or Klavier as he'd asked her to call him, had gone on a little longer.

Vera wanted company and she hated cleaning. All too aware of how weird she'd look phoning Klavier up (not to mention she didn't even have his mobile number) she looked around her vaguely tidier room.

"Hmm . . . it'll do. I wonder if Trucy's busy?" Vera thought aloud reaching for the phone book.

She wasn't and within 20 minutes there was a knock on the door.

"Hey Vera!" she said happily, "I'm so glad you invited me. I'm so bored at the agency! Seriously, Apollo's turned into some kind of workaholic crazy person doing all this paperwork and Daddy's no better. I was trying some tricks and things out but things aren't flowing today- So how're you Vera?"

That was what she liked about Trucy (besides how nice she was). How happy she was. Vera liked how she'd talk and talk and though some found that annoying, she liked it. It was kind of like the opposite of her but their friendship worked well.

"I'm fine thanks. I'm glad you could come too." Vera said, with a little smile as Trucy made herself at home, slumping down onto one of the sofas and Vera sat on the opposite one. "How's the case going with Apollo?"

Trucy scowled. "Urgh, it was doing al right. We found a lot out but then Apollo got all grumpy with me and said I was getting on his nerves and went to go do all his paperwork. What a grump. Been up to much today?"

"Not much. I went for a walk earlier with Mr. Gavin though."

Trucy's face suddenly looked shocked. "Mr. Gavin- oh wait, you mean Klavier, right?" She laughed. "For a minute I thought you meant- oh, er, never mind. Anyway, that's random. What was he doing here?"

Vera shrugged, ignoring Trucy's mistake. "He just turned up at my door and told me he wanted to help me-"

"Help you?" She looked confused.

Vera nodded. "Yes, he said he felt bad about what his brother did to me . . . and my father. So he was going to help because I said it was daunting trying to live life. Then we went on a walk in the park."

Trucy smiled, "Sounds nice. You're so lucky, Vera. I wish Klavier would turn up and my door and take me on a walk!"

"Why?" she asked, not understanding what Trucy was getting at quite.

She snorted slightly in response. "Because he's hot. I mean, have you seen him! He used to be in a band. He plays guitar AND he's a successful Lawyer."

Vera giggled uncertainly. "Trucy!" she exclaimed. "Do you think so?" She'd never really noticed him being "hot" or the fact he was in a band and _also_ a Lawyer and she wasn't completely sure why the last parts would make him more attractive to a person.

Trucy nodded with a mischievous grin. "Don't you fancy him, Vera?"

Vera suddenly blushed. She'd never discussed anything like this before. Usually, when Trucy was around Apollo was there so any "girl talk" wasn't possible, but now they were alone she wasn't sure how comfortable she was discussing things like this with Trucy. All the same, she thought she'd best be honest.

"He's really nice and kind and I guess he's handsome . . . maybe. But he's my friend I think."

"Well that's fine too. I mean, you're right- Klavier's really nice. All that other stuff is just material. I mean, if you liked him 'cause of that it'd be pretty shallow."

This confused her. ""Shallow"? What does that mean?".

"Hmm, it's kinda hard to explain. It's like when you don't like someone for their personality but instead because of how rich the are or just because they're good-looking. As in, there are no deep feelings for them as a person. Just for their possessions and assets."

She nodded, "I get it. So all that stuff you said before about him being a Lawyer and he was in a band and him being handsome, if I liked him because of those things and _just_ because of those things it'd make me shallow?"

"Yep." Trucy said, "Which isn't good. Because if you only liked him for those things if he ever lost them the relationship wouldn't last. Well as you liked him for things like him being kind and funny or whatever then it wouldn't matter whether he was Lawyer or a rock star-"

"-Because it would be true love?" Vera finished.

Trucy giggled, "You're so naive Vera." she replied with a knowing look. "But yeah, if you believe in that kind of thing."

Vera smiled back but inside she was still full of questions. Trucy was right; she was so naïve and more than that she was innocent. She was nearly twenty and though unaware of the detailed ins-and-outs of relationships, she'd never even been out with a boy, kissed one and what came after that she wasn't completely sure.

"Trucy . . ." she said, breaking the silence that had ensued. Trucy was staring at her latest painting (she liked painting originals now).

"Yeah?"

"Have you ever had a relationship?" she asked shyly.

Trucy laughed a little, "No, but I've liked boys before at school. Not that any of them could keep up with me, of course." she added."Daddy says I'm too young to go out with boys anyway. He said at my age their all deeply immature and not ready themselves so I should wait until I'm eighteen at the very earliest." She recited it in an almost script like way, as though she'd heard it so many times she knew it off by heart.

"I'm nineteen and I haven't."

"Well yeah," she replied. "But until a few weeks ago you'd had basically no contact with the outside world. And you were home schooled, I mean, where would you have met any boys?" Trucy looked thoughtful.

"You're right. I only know a few men and I'm not sure I like any of them really, as more than a friend, I mean.." Vera said, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear leaning back.

Trucy smiled encouragingly at her. "That's fine though isn't it? I mean, there's no point trying to be with someone if you don't like anyone. Daddy said boys are still immature at nineteen anyway. You can just wait until you meet someone you like."

Vera looked a little uncertain now. Trucy gave her a sympathetic look. "What's up? Is something bothering you?"

She grimaced and said: "Truth is, I don't know how to be a relationship. I don't know what couples even do. I'm weird, I don't speak a lot and I don't know anything about boys-" she started to panic quickly, getting ahead of herself feeling close to tears almost. The true realisation hit her hard, cause her to quickly blow the subject out of proportion.

"Woah, Vera, calm down, there's no need to get upset." Vera didn't reply, she was looking at her lap silently, a tear rolled down her cheek. "Hey, if you won't cheer up for me, what about Mr. Hat?" He suddenly appeared at her side. "Cheer up Vera! I myself am a man and I can teach you all about my questionable species!" Trucy made him say triggering a quiet giggle from Vera.

"And I may never have gone out with one but I do know about them. I – _we_ can teach you."

"Really?" she sniffed, and looked at them, her eyes watering. "Thanks so much Trucy and Mr. Hat. I'm so pleased you're my friends." She grabbed a spare sketchpad and quickly drew a quick sketch of the two of them and wrote "thank you" at the bottom.

"It's no problem, Vera . . . hmm, now, where to begin?"


	5. Small talk

**I can't even remember why this story's called "Nice Girls" so I'm gonna have awful trouble working that into the dialogue. Ah well, here's the next chapter. Please review? **

Small talk

There was a sort of nervous anticipation that Vera had as her and Trucy stood up. She couldn't help but worry she'd do something terribly embarrassing in front of Trucy and she'd laugh. All the same, she was sort of excited to have any practise at all. She supposed this was all part of growing up; learning about the opposite sex.

"So um, well," Trucy began, biting her lip on one side. "What shall we do first . . ." then she seemed to have an idea. "Er, how about we pretend Mr. Hat's a man you like and you're going out on a date with him?"

Vera nodded anxiously, "Okay . . ." she said, looking down at her feet.

Trucy nodded back, "Al right, so let's imagine he's knocked on your door, coming to pick you up and you've opened the door and kind of go from there?"

"Yes, that sounds . . . good." she knew she sounded uncertain, which was pretty appropriate considering she was uncertain in every sense of the word.

"Vera," Mr. Hat said, "You look very pretty today. I brought you these flowers."

"Oh, um thanks, Mr. Hat. You look really nice too." Vera replied, looking at Trucy who shook her head.

"No, Vera. You can't be looking at me. You have to look at Mr. Hat. Pretend you like him and find him attractive."

She instantly averted her gaze over to Mr. Hat. "O-okay. You're really attractive, Mr. Hat-"

"N-no, you don't _tell_ him that. You have to keep him guessing. Y'know, act aloof, like you like him but aren't that bothered really. Also, don't be so literal. Keep it casual and informal. So now, you'd make some small talk."

"Small talk?" She asked. What on earth was that? She felt herself panic again, worrying about how ignorant she was in this area.

"Yeah, like, "hey, how're you? The weather's nice isn't it? Have you been up to much?"."

"O-oh, right. Mr. Hat-"

"Please, call me . . . Eustance."

She blushed a little and wasn't sure why. Klavier had said that to her to other day when she'd called him Mr. Gavin. But that was completely different, wasn't it? That hadn't been a date, just him helping her. She wondered when he'd next want to meet her, she hoped it was soon. She needed all the help she could get.

"Helloooo, Vera?"

"Huh? Oh right, sorry. Um, okay . . . Eustance, have you had an enjoyable day?" she asked him, looking at that wooden face of his.

Mr. Hat nodded, "It's all the more enjoyable now I've seen you, Vera-" he said, "Shall we get going to the restaurant now? I'm buying you dinner." Trucy smiled, "Now, pretend we're at the restaurant." She said, leading her over to the kitchen where she pulled a chair out and indicated for Vera to sit down.

"Thank you." Vera replied, politely.

Mr. Hat nodded, "It's no problem at all. It's a beautiful day isn't it?"

"Yes, it's been ever so sunny all day long . . . " she trailed off, trying to think of more "small talk". Problem was, it all seemed pretty pointless to her.

Trucy attempted to salvage the conversation by having him reply, "This is my favourite kind of weather, but it's pretty annoying. I have to keep applying sun cream else I risk catching fire."

Vera laughed, guessing this was a joke, making reference to him being made of wood, even though she knew there was no way the sun would get _that _hot.

"Do you get sun burnt, Vera?" he asked.

Nodding her head and resting her hands on the table top she replied, "Yes, I have to wear SPF 50+ else I go bright red." she stopped and looked at Trucy. "Um, isn't this kind of pointless though . . . we're not talking about anything real with any substance."

Trucy sighed, "Yeah, that's the point. If you pour out your heart on a first date you'll scare him off, run out of things to talk about and it's just weird."

"Why would talking about something more important scare him off?" Vera asked, feeling confused. How were you meant to know if you liked a person if you didn't know the most important things about them?

"Well, not so much _important,_ but if you start telling them deeply personal stuff it stops being a fun, informal meeting and become gruelling and scary." Trucy paused, clearly trying to think of the best way to explain. "Imagine you were going on a date with . . . my Daddy and you'd only just met and knew nothing about him. If he started telling you all about how he used to be a lawyer but got dis-barred and accused of forging evidence and then accused of murder and lots of little things that have happened to him in the last few years, would you want to see him again?"

Vera figured if you were going on a date with Mr. Wright she's probably know all about his old career due to the media and gossip. She didn't say this though, as she knew Trucy was just being hypothetical.

"N-no. I guess I wouldn't?" she'd meant it at a statement but it came off more as a question. She still couldn't see the point in meeting up with someone and then discussing how burned you got in the sun.

"It's about seeing if your personalities click or not, whether you get along. Not about making sure they know every tiny thing about yourself . . . I think. I mean, I've never been out with anyone but that's kinda how it seems on the television."

"Right. Okay, So Eustance, what's your favourite colour?" she asked.

"See, you're totally getting the idea of this "small talk" thing." she looked almost proud. "I'd have to say purple."

"Oh, me too!" Vera said, happily. She supposed this was what "clicking" was. Finding out you had the little things in common. "It's such a nice colour." all the same, she couldn't say she was enthralled with small talk.

"So you like to draw, Vera?" he asked.

"Yes, I've always loved drawing so much, ever since I was tiny." Vera replied, perking up a bit. She loved talking about art more than anything.

"Well, I'd be delighted to see some of your work sometime."

"You can see it now if you like-" she began, before remembering they were meant to be in a restaurant, not at home in her kitchen. "-when we get back to my place."

Trucy stepped in now. "No, no, no. See, you don't let him back into you place on a first date . . . or erm, maybe for a while yet anyway. You'll give him the wrong idea."

Vera must've looked completely blank now, so Trucy tucked Mr. Hat back into her cloak. "Vera . . . do you know . . . how to put this? "The facts of life"?"

She felt herself blush instantly. She did, vaguely. She knew what adults did together, she'd seen programs lately. She hadn't understood it at first, what adults meant when they "had an early night" or "slept together" so she'd gotten a book out of the library and read it. Surprised hadn't been the word. Vera supposed she should have known about that kind of thing years ago but her Father had never told her.

"Y-yes. I do."

"Well, generally it's assumed by many, not all men, that if a woman asks him into her apartment that they're going to ah, "consummate" the relationship. So what to you would sound like "Come in and look at my art-work" might sound more like "Come in and I'll sleep with you" to them." Trucy saw her worried expression. "Don't worry, not all men will think that . . . you just have to be careful. Like, wait until you find someone you're incredibly comfortable with before you do _that_ with them."

Vera couldn't exactly imagine herself being so comfortable around someone that she'd let them do that with her. Still, she assumed it would come naturally, eventually.

"There's no pressure, I mean, you're nineteen. Loads of people who are nineteen haven't . . . you know. I'm just saying, it could be years, but it doesn't matter. Just as long as you never do anything you're not comfortable."

She smiled, attempting to assure Trucy she understood what was being said. She felt a rush of affection to Trucy for being so nice to her and looking out for her in this way. Deciding she had to thank her properly she decided to start working on a proper portrait of Mr. Hat (or Eustance as he apparently liked to be called) and considered then, starting work on a guitar picture for Klavier. She knew he'd like that.

"Okay, so it's the end of the date now, we're _not _going into your place and we're outside your door." she got up and they headed to her door. "Pretend we're outside though, not inside."

"O-okay. Um, thanks for taking me out tonight, Eustance . . . it's been very nice." she smiled up at him.

"Here, a kiss is optional. Depends on how much you like them and whether you're comfortable enough. So, here's how it works- if you don't like them, you just turn away if they try to kiss you and then spurn their advances and never speak to them again (usually, this is just if they're a total pig)."

"Uh huh." she nodded.

"If you like them but aren't comfortable enough to kiss them, just hug them, or let them kiss your cheek and then if they say you should it again sometime and he'll call you, act enthusiastic, not too much though. Just smile and say you'd like that." she paused and grinned. "And then thirdly, if you _like_ them and _want_ to kiss them then wait for them to lean in and go for it. Um, and then they'll probably say they'll call you, I think and you smile and nod along, like with the last scenario."

Vera nodded again, she understood and guessed she'd probably be able to figure out how kissing worked. She made a note in her mind to look it up on the internet. She was so grateful for all this technology she hadn't known about before.

"Well, you can kiss Mr. Hat if you like, I'm sure he wouldn't mind but we might taste a bit odd since he's made of wood and everything . . ."

"N-no, I'm okay." Vera replied, giggling slightly. The idea made her laugh for some odd reason.

Trucy made pressed Mr. Hat's head into her cheek for a second before he said. "I had an excellent time tonight, I'd very much like to do this again."

Vera smiled, "Y-yes, me too. I'd like that."

"I'll call you." He added.

"Okay." and with that he disappeared back into Trucy's cloak.

"There, that wasn't so bad, was it?" she asked, grinning. "I think you did pretty well. Of course, practise makes perfect so just try talking to people and thinking of different things you could ask them about. I mean, the more you practise, the easier talking to everyone will be, not just people you like."

She smiled back, "Thanks so much for this Trucy. This has actually helped me a lot. I feel like I've been on a date now."

""Feel like"? That _was_ a date. I think Mr. Hat's quite taken with you. I really get the feeling he likes you."

Deciding to go along with the joke she asked: "Oh, why is that?"

Trucy smiled mischievously, "For a start, he doesn't even let _me_ call him "Eustance"."


	6. A beautiful city

**Firstly, sorry if Klavier's a little out of character here. As someone said before, he is a little overly kind in this. Thing is, I figure he'd be unlikely to be all smug and arrogant towards Vera who he's trying to make it up to. Also, after all the stuff with Kristoph. **

**Thanks so much for the reviews, they made me want to keep writing this even more, even though I'm still not 100% sure where this is going. I think I've actually remembered the namesake of the fic now so that's something. Thanks for the idea Rahh Gumba Foo- I'm pretty sure that's actually something to do with why it's called that. Also, some kind of reference to how I write that Klavier never dates Fangirls. And thanks Same Thing :')**

**Well, anyway, I'm sure no one wants to read a small essay before I get onto the story- oh wait, too late. This intro is now three paragraphs long so onto the story I guess- please review? :')**

**A beautiful city**

Vera spent the next couple of days painting and milling about at home. There wasn't much to do really so besides short visits from Apollo and Trucy. It was solitary and slightly lonely. Luckily, she didn't mind as she'd always been a loner and quite liked her own company.

She'd finished the painting of Mr. Hat to thank Trucy for what she'd done. Thanks to her she didn't feel completely alien and as much, missing out on things that every teenage girl usually learned before the age of fifteen. Then she'd begun of the guitar, making it his special Gavinner's guitar, with a toned purple and black background. She found herself thinking about him a lot and how nice of him it was as she painted. Hoping the picture would put her gratitude into words she finally finished and propped it up next to Trucy's picture. Glad and thinking they'd turned out very well she smiled as a knock on the door came.

_Probably Apollo or Trucy_ she thought, with a tiny part of her hoping it would be Klavier. It had been a week since she'd last seen him, he was always so busy and it wasn't as though she could ask him to give up any more of his time.

"Vera!" Klavier said, leaning against the door frame. For a crazy moment as her heart leapt, she'd thought he was going to hug her.

"Klaver, hi," she smiled, "how're you?" She's been practising her small talk and even looking it up on the internet how to converse well with others.

He returned her smile and stepped inside, "I'm good thanks, well, actually, I'm on an awful case but I don't wanna talk about that at all. How about you? Been up to a lot?"

"N-no, not really, just painting." she said, suddenly worrying the painting wasn't good enough to give him. What if he said it was rubbish and looked nothing like his guitar? Or it reminded him too much of his old band and upset or annoyed him?

He looked around, "Anything nice- oh, right are these them?" he looked down at the two on the floor. "Wow, Vera, these are amazing- is this one of my guitar?" Klavier, asked kindly.

"Y-yes," she stuttered, feeling glad he liked it, "A-actually, that one's for you to um, say thanks."

He looked back up at her, "This is amazing, you did this just because I took you out -well, outside -once? I can't accept this- it belongs in a Gallery, not in my living room." his face was incredulous.

She blushed, pleased he was complimenting her picture but vary all the same in case he was making excuses. "It's nothing special, you don't have to have it if you don't like it. I just wanted to say-"

"No!" he exclaimed, clearly worried he'd offended her, "It's brilliant, I just mean it's a lot of effort. It's really nice f you-" Klavier's face had turned a little red as well now. "Well, if this is what I get every time I take you anywhere I'll have to clear some space on my walls- oh, err, not that I'm saying you have to- would want to- keep painting me pictures."

She suppressed a little smile. It was sort of funny to see confident Klavier Gavin stuttering and not knowing what to say. Luckily, she had known exactly what he meant, being fluent in the language of stuttering and not knowing what to say.

"It's fine, Klavier, I won't have time to be painting you lots of pictures anyway . . . I got a letter in the post a few days ago asking if I'd be interested in displaying any of my work at the nearest gallery-" She couldn't hold in the smile this time.

Having not told anyone about this, not even Apollo and Trucy it was nice to hear the words out-loud. Vera had been so unbelievably happy when she'd read the letter she'd barely been able to contain herself. "I guess they must have heard about my painting from the newspapers."

"Vera, that's great!" he moved in to hug her, taking her by surprise he ended up sort of crumpling her against his chest, her arms getting caught in the middle of being risen. "Wow, I guess some good does come of those horrible tabloid newspapers then?"

She blushed again, happily trying to think of something to say back. "Yes . . . " but then she paused, "Still, I bet they said some horrible things about me and what happened to my father . . . about how I forged things and-"

Looking stern suddenly he stared into her eyes, "That wasn't your fault, okay?" and when she tried to explain herself he shook her head and cut across her. "I won't hear any more on the subject. You didn't do anything- end of."

Vera nodded and decided it might be prudent to loop back around to discussing the original topic. She smiled a little again, "I'm so excited about it- I've been trying to think of things to paint all day but they've all seemed so mundane . . . I mean, I did all those copies and now it's weird having to think up your own original ideas."

He'd been nodding along and apparently trying to think of something she could do about this, it seemed to have hit him because he went: "I have an idea- that's how I'll help you now then, today. We'll go look for something you can paint. Does that sound good to you, Frauline?"

"Yes, that sounds wonderful, I'll go get my camera." and with that she popped into her room to search, barely managing to contain the big smile on her face. She wasn't exactly sure what it was, but she knew she was at least excited. And she didn't see it as a crush, exactly. All Vera knew was it felt nice to have a "hot" (as Trucy had put it), nice guy paying attention to her, whether it be romantic or not.

"I've got it!" she said, happily.

"Good, now, where shall we go?"

They ended up on a hill on the side of town. They could see all the huge, stretched sky-scrapers with smaller buildings in-between. The Wright Talent agency wasn't in view, she noticed with regret but the sun was setting and the town looked incredible.

"It's beautiful." she said, slightly out of breath from the walk.

"It is." he agreed, panting a little himself and casting his gaze to the sun-set.

She sighed. "I think this is what I want to paint, Klavier. It's perfect."

And it was. The perfect thing to paint seemed to be the city that she'd lived in all her life and yet, somehow, barely knew. She wanted to know it all like the back of her hand and live her life to the full, not held back by the cold, lonely past.

Holding up the camera she placed it in the perfect position with just the right amount of red skyline and sky-scraper building top.

"Um, there is one thing though." she said, hesitating, "I er, don't actually know how to use a camera." feeling a little stupid as it just once again highlighted her lack of general worldly knowledge, her arms slumped down and she sighed again.

To her surprise Klavier chuckled a little, "Here," he said. "It's not hard, don't worry." He took her hands and lifted them up. "Find the placing you want again . . . there we go. Now, just press down on this button here." he placed his finger over hers to locate the correct button and gently pressed down.

She was grateful it was getting dark because It seemed that Vera Misham was developing an unfortunate habit of blushing while in the company of Klavier Gavin.


	7. Thinking of you

**Okay, so this chapter's pretty heavy on describing Klavier's feelings and low on dialogue. Hopefully, Ema's not OTT, the development of Klavier's feelings doessn't feel unnatural and rushed and anyone who reads this will like it . . . and then leave a review. I worked out exactly where I'm going with this story now. Should be about another four chapters. Well, anywho, please enjoy! :')**

**Thinking of you**

Klavier had been busy. Very busy. In fact, so much so that he was beginning to wonder how on earth he'd managed his his prosecuting career while handling his band. Because these days he had so little time, it seemed, that he'd barely had time to eat, let alone play guitar.

It was mainly paperwork and so little time was spent in court doing what he loved most. The new jurist system had made things, if anything, worse now. To him it mainly resulted in more paperwork and filing. It wasn't even taxing stuff; just very repetitive and it gave him far too much time to dwell and think.

And so much of what he seemed to think about was Kristoph. It had still been mere weeks since Kristoph's second conviction and while he'd pretend to be dealing with everything well, it was tough to deal with it all; the betrayal after all that time and then a second one; the realisation that his brother was still hurting others, even from behind bars.

He also thought about Vera a lot too. Sometimes despairingly, hating the fact he felt he felt guilty, hating how he'd believed _her_ to be guilty at times. She was a good person- a _great_ person and yet her life had been made abnormal by these selfish people.

As soon as he'd gotten the chance he'd headed round to her place to visit, wishing he'd had a chance before that and worried she'd think he'd given up and just wasn't coming again. The picture had almost made it worse. The consideration put into each brush stroke, the fact that _she _felt indebted to_ him_.

All the same he'd accepted it, it was beautiful and an incredibly nice thing to do- but that was a pretty good way of summing Vera up: _nice_. And so he'd helped her again, but felt immense anger at her father after hearing her blame herself for the forgeries she'd done. Feeling so annoyed, he'd had to attempt to close the topic. He wouldn't listen to her say such things.

He noted she was easier to speak to that before. She made small talk, appeared far more relaxed in his company and had seemed genuinely pleased to see him when he'd turned up without word for a week.

He'd found it oddly adorable that she didn't know how to use a camera and the way- or had that been his imagination?- she seemed to blush slightly in the darkening night air.

Klavier found himself attached to the way she'd speak sometimes when she forgot herself; the enthusiasm shone out- the way she loved the city, her faith in humanity even through everything that had gone on.

Of course, he was back at work now and once again had a lot of time to think and he found himself thinking of _her_ so much that he'd almost questioned why, before supposing it was because he admired her.

"Klavier?"

It was such a shame that she'd been so isolated for long but now she seemed to appreciate the little things all the more-

"_Klavier_?"

He wondered whether she'd started her painting yet-

Suddenly, something light and crispy hit his face.

"_KLAVIER!_?"

Snapping out of his daydream he blinked, feeling disorientated. It felt almost as though he'd been asleep and then brought back down to earth with a bucket of cold water.

"What?" He asked, irritatedly, annoyed to see the sulky face of Ema Sky at the door, holding a half-finished bag of Snakoos.

She rolled her eyes, "I just said- have you finished the case report for yesterday's trial yet?"

He shook his head, "Haven't had time-"

"No doubt using your time constructively, I'm sure." The sarcasm was obvious in her voice, "Dating equally glimmerous and foppish women-"

That was a point- he hadn't been out on a date in . . . weeks. This had to be a record for him. The only woman he'd really seen lately was Vera and she was certainly neither of those things.

"My apologies Frauline Detective, but I've been a tad busy with this tedious paperwork to do that case report, for your information." He was sure to add in a hint of smugness, knowing that would really annoy her.

It had worked, she looked pretty annoyed to him. All the same, she also seemed to be struggling to find a come-back. Perhaps she knew how much paperwork he had? "F-fine! . . . Just hurry up and do it soon though, yeah? I'm waiting on them." and with that she left. He picked up his pen again, rolling his eyes like she had and sighed.

_Still, only one and a half hours before I finish work . . ._ he thought optimistically, finding the report in one of the mesh trays on his desk. _I have a feeling it's gonna be a long hour and a half._

By the time he got home he felt troubled.In that hour and a half he'd spent far too much time thinking about Vera; her endearing qualities and wondering when he'd see her again. He'd been round to see her twice and he couldn't help feeling disgusted and ashamed of himself for somehow developing a small crush on the girl.

For that was what he figured it must be. A simple crush which, although being hopelessly inappropriate do to her age and situation, was innocent enough. Klavier decided it couldn't be helped; she was pretty. Not in the same way as some of the models he'd been out with, but she had this clean, pure beauty about her.

Her personality hadn't helped. Not understanding political correctness and social niceties made her much more enjoyable to speak to because subjects people tended to skirt around weren't taboo. This was very refreshing to him as he spent so much of his time being told what he wanted to hear by fans, girlfriends and managers.

Klavier could've sat there for a while, deciding the reasons he'd accidentally crossed the line between caring mentor and having feelings for her, but he knew this wouldn't get him anywhere. He toyed with the idea of avoiding her for a while but couldn't bear to. He'd promised to help her, so that was what he was going to do. He'd have to swallow his feelings; lock them up in a small box inside his mind and lock it tightly, ignoring any protest.

Lying in bed as he decided this, Klavier sighed, rolled over and attempted to push any thoughts of Vera Misham out of his head.

It was going to be a long night, too.


	8. Awkward Hesitations

**Ahh, thanks Rah Gumba Foo. My grammar and spelling actually sucks. I'm amazed there haven't been more pointed out. :O Glad you're enjoying the story :') Now I've decided what happens in all future chapters it should get cuter, because if you couldn't tell from the fact that the majority of my fics are romance genre, i love writing adorable, slightly unrealistic clichéd stories. :')**

**Bleh -_-, I won't lie. Whenever I attempt at describing outfits I suddenly feeling like I'm in the middle of writing a Mary-Kate and Ashley book so sorry if the outfits sound lame and forced.**

Awkward hesitations

_Hmm, chicken soup or Tomato soup? _She pondered to herself, standing in the canned goods aisle. Deciding it wasn't a particularly important decision she went for both and chucked them into her basket.

She turned around racking her brains for what else she needed to buy. _If only I'd written a list …_she thought, accidentally brushing the arm of a man and quickly turning around to apologize.

"Ah, I'm sorry." He said, getting there before her.

"No, sorry, it was my fault. I wasn't looking where I was going-" she said, getting a better look at him. He had short dark brown hair, was medium height and was also holding a basket with different soups in it.

She guessed this was the end of the conversation now and went to turn back around to carry on but he stopped her.

"No, wait!" she looked at him again, he was smiling slightly.

"Yes?" she asked, confused.

He looked down at his shoes, "Look, this is gonna sounds pretty cliché' since we bumped into each other in a supermarket and all-"

She wasn't sure what "cliché" meant so she didn't say anything.

"Would you like to go for a drink or something sometime?"

Vera blushed bright red. She had the funniest feeling he was asking her out on a date. Suddenly wishing there were less people around she too looked down at her shoes. Trucy hadn't covered what to do when actually being asked out on the date.

"Um..." she said, trying to stall for time. She knew she should have been happy, ecstatic even. Feeling so weird about never having had a boyfriend this should have been a dream come true for her, but for some reason all she could think about was Klavier. Unable to infer meaning from this fact and sensing from how anxious and weird she felt she went with her gut instinct.

"N-no, sorry. I ah, can't-"

"Oh, um right. This is a bit awkward then." Suddenly feeling a wave of guilt come over her she felt herself weaken.

"You're totally sure? I mean, you don't think you'll change your mind?"

"I . . . don't know?" Completely unable to think of a decent reply now and knowing she was bright red in the face she felt this was the best reply.

"Alright, fair enough. Don't worry, I'm going to harass you over it or anything. How about I give you my number and then If you change your mind you can call _me_. No pressure." his looked at her kindly and got out a small pen and a note book and started writing her number.

Not seeing any harm in this she nodded. "Ah, o-okay then." she took the paper, folded it and put it into her pocket.

"I'm not usually at _all_ forward with girls, but you're _really_ pretty . . . um, anyway again, no pressure, well, see you." she nodded, smiled a little as he turned around. -"I hope you call though." she added as he walked away not looking back leaving her with a very red face.

So this was what it felt like to be asked out . . .

As soon as she got home from her shopping excursion she called Trucy, of course. Vera knew she'd want to know.

"Oh my Gosh, that's awesome Vera. Wait . . . why'd you say no in the first place?" she said, her voice crackling a little over the phone.

Vera hesitated. She wasn't sure if it was sensible to tell Trucy the real reason. She talked a lot; what if she told someone? But then she shook her head; Trucy wouldn't do that. She was her best friend. She didn't want to say it over the phone though she wanted to explain it properly.

"Vera? Are you still there?" she asked.

"Y-yes, look, I have to go now, Trucy. I'll talk about it later."

"Alright. See you there- we'll pick you up at 8, I'm pretty excited. We're pretty lucky Daddy got us tickets really."

"We are- yep, I'll be ready then. Cya." and then she hung up with regret, realising that at the police station end of year party might not be the best place to tell Trucy she had a horrible feeling she might like Klavier. What if he overheard?

She wasn't completely sure why they were going. But it seemed they'd had spare tickets left over so Mr. Wright had taken them and invited Apollo, Trucy and herself along.

Pulling the paper out of her pocket and unfolding it carefully for the first time since she'd acquired it she placed it on her mantle-piece so she wouldn't lose it and went to get ready.

There was a knock at the door at five past eight and Vera took a quick look in the mirror.

"I hope I look okay . . ." she said, quietly to herself. She'd been shopping with Trucy earlier in the week and they'd picked a shimmery, purple, knee-length dress with spaghetti straps. Personally, she couldn't help but smile slightly. Never had she felt this grown up and adult. The dress made her feel beautiful and less like a child stuck inside an adults body. The way it clung to her body loosely (she'd felt incredibly uncomfortable in anything too tight), unlike the purple jumpers she usually wore.

Opening the door she smiled. Apollo was in a white, short-sleeved shirt with a few of the buttons undone and Trucy was in a knee length blue dress with cute cap sleeves. They both smiled back.

"Wow, Vera- you look amazing." Apollo said, smiling.

"See, I told you she looked grown up in her new dress. You look great and ah, I see the make-up went alright, did it?"

Trucy had even taught Vera how to apply a thin layer of mascara. Of course, she'd been in favour of trying on loads of things, foundation, lipstick and blusher, but Trucy had assured her that very few could pull off the "caked-on make-up" look and this time, less really was more.

She grabbed her bag off the table and they left for the taxi where Mr. Wright apparently was.

Climbing in carefully, she was sure not to get her dress caught on anything.

"Vera, you look lovely." Mr. Wright said, "and that's four dollars for the cab."

"Wh-what?" she panicked, she hadn't thought of bringing money.

He grinned, "just kidding- this one's on me . . . oh, and Apollo as he has an income."

"What? Aww, man." Apollo said, beside her.

She giggled, slightly glad he was joking. "Actually, Mr. Wright; I do have an income. The museum's asked me to do some paintings for them."

"That's great, Vera." Apollo said, who was sat next to her with Trucy squashed on her other side.

Trucy smiled, "Yeah, it is- even though I already knew but, well done again!"

They spent the rest the journey (which was long) talking about her paintings and what she was going to paint after she'd finished the city. She'd been toying with the idea of putting her own artistic spin on the night sky, but she didn't tell them this as she liked hearing their ideas as well.

When they got to the venue a sudden wave of nervousness hit her, knowing that somewhere inside there, Klavier was there with the rest of his work-mates. Would he still speak to her in front of them or would he be too embarrassed? She hesitated but Trucy grabbed her arm as they entered and pulled her over to the side out of ear-shot of Apollo or Phoenix.

"So, what were you going to tell me earlier but didn't want to on the phone?" she sounded excited. Vera just felt a little nauseous. In person it seemed even harder to say.

When she didn't reply, being her usual bubbly self ,Trucy just persevered. "Why did you say no the first time, then?"

"Um, I don't know. I just couldn't think of anything to say and I was so embarrassed and it was really awkward." she was speaking really fast. "And I kept thinking about- well, I just didn't know what to say really."

She'd slipped up. She knew Trucy would weedle the information out of her eventually, it was inevitable.

"Couldn't stop thinking about what, Vera?" she said, slyly.

"N-nothing."

"Vera?"

"I don't want to say. It's ridiculous and really, really embarrassing."

"Go on..."

"You have to promise you won't say anything-"

"Just say it-"

"I err, I couldn't stop thinking about Klavier . . . Trucy, I think I might like him. Is that stupid?"

She tried to read Trucy's face, but couldn't quite tell what she was thinking. She looked a little sad almost, there was something in her eyes. Was it pity? She hoped not.

"No, Vera. That's not stupid, it's adorable and really normal. But I thought you said before you didn't think you liked anyone-"

"I did, well, I thought I didn't, but I can't stop thinking about him. He's so nice and it's just dawned on me slowly . . . " she trailed off, unable to think what to say.

Trucy smiled weakly. "We should try and find out if he likes you too. It'd be awesome if he did! You'd be so cute together!" But it sounded strained. Vera wasn't sure why, but it definitely didn't sound like normal Trucy. She couldn't work out why she'd be upset that she liked Klavier. She didn't think it was because Trucy liked him herself. She'd said before it was just a silly crush because he was attractive and a rock-star.

So what on earth was wrong with her?

**Gosh, that's almost like a cliffhanger. Not a very gripping one, but a cliffhanger all the same. Next chapter should come soon. The only reason I stopped was because I generally like to keep the chapter's kind of short. Please review? **


	9. Stupid

**Thank you :') and pttsh, I could never stop, the ending of this one should be good. Though, I do feel pretty sorry for Vera in this chapter. **

** Enjoy and review?**

**Stupid**

Vera felt nervous again walking into the crowded room, but it was okay. Everyone was busy talking, or dancing so no one turned around to stare. She pushed any doubts about Trucy's sincerity to the back of her mind. She'd never been to a party before, it was pretty exciting.

They pushed their way through to the table at the back that Apollo and Phoenix had sat down at. She could see they were in deep conversation and a man with long blonde hair in a striped purple shirt was standing by them.

The man looked awfully like Klavier.

"Come on, let's go over, Vera." Trucy said, tugging at her arm as she'd stopped.

Suddenly feeling incredibly weird and as though someone had released butterfly's into her stomach she shook her head. "Oh God, I can't Trucy, what if he thinks I look weird. What if he guesses how I feel and never speaks to me again or-"

Rolling her eyes she continues to tug, now steering her along with her arm. "Relax, will you? You look amazing! He'd not going to guess either. He's not a mind reader!"

They'd reached the table now.

"Hi Daddy!" Trucy said, happily, sitting down next to him. Apollo and Klavier turned around to greet them. "Vera's worried she looks weird, but she looks lovely doesn't she?" Feeling that familiar feeling of the blood rushing to her cheeks she shook her head.

"Of course, she does." he replied in answer to Trucy's question and then turning to Trucy. "You're just nervous because you've never been dressed up in such grown-up clothing."

Apollo gave her an encouraging smile, but Vera hated this. Being the centre of attention and having everyone tell her she looked nice. It was weird. She was so used to being ignored and looked past that being asked out and told she looked beautiful (by three different people) all in one day was much more attention than she'd ever desired.

"I don't think Vera's comfortable with us all staring at her," Apollo said, finally. He was right. All eyes were on her- even Klavier's, but he looked awkward, as though he wasn't sure what to do with himself.

"-But she does look great, right Apollo, right Klavier?" Trucy chimed in again making Vera wish the ground would open up and swallow her.

"Yeah," Apollo said, nodding and picking up his drink. Klavier hadn't said anything, he was still looking at her though.

"Klavier?" Trucy prompted her, subtlety clearly not being her strong point.

"Wha? Oh er, yes. She looks . . .she looks really nice." he was staring at the floor. It hadn't been the most convincing compliment and suddenly Vera felt like someone had punched her in the chest. _I must look ridiculous. _She thought sadly, to herself. _I was so stupid to get dressed up like this. Maybe I was trying to be something I'm not to impress him. _She slowly slunk into a chair on the opposite side of the table, Trucy joined her.

"Cheer up, Vera. He _did _mean it. I think he's distracted though. He's got problems as well, you know? Maybe that's why he hasn't visited this week?"

She was right. He hadn't visited in a week and now this. Wanting to cry more than anything she looked away, swallowing back tears.

"L-let's get a drink, shall we?" she said, shakily, wanting to change the subject and cheer her up.

Vera nodded and attempted a smile.

"That's the spirit." Trucy said. They stood up but stopped when Mr. Wright spoke to them.

"Girls, where're you going?" he asked, suspiciously.

Trucy smiled, cheekily. "To get a drink."

"Fine," but his eyebrows were raised, ",but no alcohol, right? You're far, far too young. Not you Vera. Obviously, I can't tell you what to do. All the same, I wouldn't recommend it." he added, sheepishly.

Trucy rolled her eyes in return. "Fine, we weren't planning on drinking any anyway!" though she didn't sound altogether convincing, "Ah well, we'll still have a good time, right Vera?"

She'd been staring at the back of Klavier's head while he'd been speaking, but she nodded absent-mindedly, all the same.

And Trucy was right. They did have a good time. They got drinks from the bar and then headed off to the dance floor. Vera wasn't exactly sure how to dance so she just copied Trucy and when Apollo and Phoenix joined it it was fun. She avoided Klavier, which wasn't exactly hard since he didn't tend to linger for long whenever she was around. It repeatedly made her feel sad and confused. What had she done wrong that had made him want to speak to her so little.

Around eleven Apollo, Trucy and Vera sat back down at the table they'd sat at near the beginning, leaving Mr. Wright deep in conversation with Ema Skye. All she'd heard were the words sports-car and Edgeworth before they'd fallen out of earshot.

"Hey guys," she piped up, "I kinda need to toilet so I see you in a minute, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah." they said, almost in union. It was weird; they were actually quite similar in some ways. They were always arguing but you could tell they liked each other's company really.

Heading to the bathroom she passed Klavier who nodded at her. She nodded back and tried to find solace in the fact he hadn't completely ignored her. "How're you doing Vera?" he said, at the last minute when she'd felt sure a nod was all she was going to get.

"Um, I'm okay. It's uh, a good party." she said, feeling typically, unable to think of a lot to say. Sometimes she hated being so shy.

He nodded, "Yeah, it's pretty good. Music's not brilliant though- in fact, the music's quite awful."

"Well, I don't really know much about music. I mean, I listen to the radio a bit but I can't really judge what's bad or good, to be honest. I liked some of the your band's old songs though." she added, truthfully. She'd asked to borrow the CD off Trucy a week ago and knew all the words to half of the songs now.

He laughed, "Well then, you _can_ judge what's bad and good. You clearly have brilliant taste in music." She had a feeling he was joking though.

"I think you were a good band, my favourite song was "shrinking violet" it's so beautiful."

He looked a little embarrassed. "It's funny. I used to live for compliments like that but now I know the truth about Daryan . . . it kind of feels like the band was a bit of a fraud. I mean, one of our songs was was basically about being there for your friends, and very ironically might I add, about not betraying them."

She shuffled on the spot. "I'm sure your friend didn't want to do what he did. I doubt that would help much though."

Klavier snorted, "The idiot did it for money. And I'm still pretty damn angry about it. Still, like I said to you ages ago- I've forgiven him effectively."

It felt normal between them, relaxed almost. There was none of the awkwardness there had been earlier by the table but realising she'd already been gone quite a while.

"I'm sorry . . . and I'm sure he is too. I have to get going now though, I told Apollo and Trucy I was just going to the toilet."

He nodded, for a second she thought she even detected a little disappointment, but shook the idea off, putting it down to wishful thinking. "Oh, of course. Sorry, I didn't realise. I'll see you later, maybe."

"Bye." she said, heading to the toilet, in a considerably better mood than before. He did hate her. He wasn't annoyed with her and the awkwardness that had appeared for apparently no reason seemed to have gone.

Almost skipping back to Apollo and Trucy she stopped a few metres away from them as she heard her name in their conversation.

"I know, it's just- I'm worried she'll get hurt." Trucy said, biting her lip and looking concerned.

"I know he's a bit vein, but he's not a bad guy really. He's been a lot less smug since the trial, I must say." Apollo replied.

Trucy still looked unconvinced. "It's not that I think he's a bad guy; I just mean, what if she tells him how she feels and he rejects her-"

Apollo raised his eyebrows, "How do you know he would?"

"I don't," she said, ",but she'd not exactly his _type_, is she? I mean, he dates supermodels-"

Vera knew exactly what they were talking about. And she couldn't help but agree with Trucy. Once again, that familiar feeling of having being punched in the chest hit her. Her eyes found Klavier, he was standing with with a male detective and two girls, both staring at Klavier with dreamy expressions. She could have hit herself.

How could she have been so stupid? Klavier could have any girl in the room, they were all besotted with him and why wouldn't they be. He was certainly charming and she felt like a complete idiot for feeling like this about him. How could she be so stupid as to get a crush on someone so incredibly out of her league? The fact that Trucy had acknowledged this made her feel all the worse. Now Apollo knew and that was one more person who knew that Vera had been foolish enough to believe that they lived in a world where a shy, socially awkward girl like her could ever be with a man like Klavier Gavin.


	10. Misunderstandings

**Thank you for both of the reviews; don't worry, I'm not keen on sad endings + I'm a total sucker for romance. :')**

** I don't think I've done a chapter focusing on them both before, but both parts I wrote seemed too short to have as separate chapters. So . . . enjoy! :') **

**Misunderstandings**

Klavier was completely silent on the motorcycle ride home. Sometimes he liked to sing to himself and take the scenic route home but today he just wanted to get home.

The night had not exactly gone to plan.

He'd felt okay at the beginning of the party. He hadn't seen Vera in a week and though he felt awful about this, he really felt he had control on this little crush he seemed to have on her. He hadn't even known she was coming to the party. At first he'd assumed it had just been Apollo (Or Herr forehead as he liked to call him) and Mr. Wright, but then Vera and Trucy had turned up out of the crowds and he'd been unable to do anything but stare.

Vera had looked beautiful. Before this, he'd described her a pretty, despite having her looks held back by her slightly frumpy clothes. But now? Wow. She was up there with the supermodels only possibly better looking. She had less make-up on and that dress had set her long, shiny locks off indescribably well.

And so he'd tried to stay away from her. He was scared; afraid that his silly crush was turning into something more. He felt drawn to her and yet tried to stay on the opposite side of the room if he could. In the end he'd passed her on the way out of the toilets. At first he'd just nodded, but he couldn't help but think about how stupid this was. Besides, he didn't want to hurt her feelings. She couldn't help being stunningly beautiful, pure, innocent and honest. So he'd stopped and talked with her before she'd made her excuses and left.

When he'd seen her later she'd looked upset, but more subdued than anything. He'd wanted to go over and do what he'd promised he would; help her. But things had gotten complicated now- and she didn't look like she was in a talking mood anyway.

She caught his eye and he's smiled sadly, hoping to convey the message "I hope you're okay, but but you have to understand why I can't come over and speak to you."

But why would she understand why he couldn't come over? He had to admit it himself, it sort of looked like he'd abandoned her.

He now, ran his hands through his hair, feeling the cool night air on his face and almost enjoying the feeling of wind rushing against him, but he felt hollow. It was guilt and he hated it. He wasn't going to let himself feel guilty any more. Klavier had to visit her tomorrow; to make things right; he even considered telling her the truth.

Surely that was out of the question though? She finally seemed relaxed in his company, like she trusted him. How could he impose that kind of awkwardness onto their relationship.

So many things needed to be questioned before he could do anything, but he knew one thing: his feelings weren't going away as he'd hoped. Tonight, if anything, had made things much, much worse.

Meanwhile, Vera was home and had gotten into her pyjamas, carefully removed her make-up (with a combination of tears and make-up remover wipes), and climbed into her bed which felt indescribably comfortable after spending the last hour of her life wishing she was back at home in bed.

She'd had to hold in the tears for what had felt like hours, too. Hearing Trucy and Apollo talking about her and then having to watch Klavier speak to all those attractive detective women had not been fun, so as soon as she'd bid Trucy and Apollo fair well she'd shut the door, burst into tears and felt all the better for it.

What was she supposed to do? Her "friendship" with Klavier seemed to have the potential to break her heart and yet she couldn't just end it. She didn't _want_ to end it.

She switched on the Tv she'd had put in her room, ready to watch whatever was on. One of those teen dramas was playing. The one's with attractive, privileged teenagers falling in love and breaking up into different combinations.

"-I know!" a pretty girl with long brown hair said to her red-headed friend. "I just- I just miss him so much..." she trailed off, weeping, yet her make-up still looked immaculate.

The red-head had her arms around the other girl. "It's horrible and I know, it's hurts right now, but you'll be fine."

"I won't be, I'll be alone forever." The brown haired girl replied.

"You won't be! Look, the best way to get over a guy if to date another one. You'll forget all about Dylan then."

Vera switched it off. She'd heard enough and frankly and rather conveniently, she knew what to do to get Klavier out of her head.

Standing up and getting out of bed, she padded back into her sitting room and picked the piece of paper off the mantle-piece and unfolded it.

Then, looking at the number she reached for the phone that she'd left on the table and dialled the number shakily, suddenly feeling incredibly nervous and beginning to question whether or not this was a good idea after all.

He picked up quickly, "Hello?" he voice sounded a little different on the phone. "Who is this?"

She swallowed, "Um, it's Vera- the girl from earlier in the supermarket."

"Ooooh, yeah, I remember you- yay, you called! I really didn't think you would." he said, sounding genuinely pleased.

_I didn't think I'd call either._ She thought to herself, but didn't say aloud, thinking this could offend him.

"I erm, I changed my mind; I'd like to have a drink with you if you still want to." she said, half hoping he'd say no, now.

"Yeah, definitely- actually, I can do one better. How about I take you for a nice dinner? I'll pay of course."

"O-okay, sounds nice." she gave him her address and he agreed to pick her up at six the following evening. "My name's Steve, by the way. I never gave you it earlier." he said, before she'd told him she had to go.

_This is sure to stop me thinking about Klavier. _She told herself, putting the phone back down on the table. _Steve seems really nice and actually likes me. _

She told herself this a few times that night as she lay in bed, wondering if she'd done the right thing. Of course, she gave up eventually, not getting any answers and deciding that since he probably wasn't thinking about her, she shouldn't be wasting her time thinking about him.

The only problem was that Klavier, several miles away, was thinking the same thing.


	11. Clear in a subtle way

**Rahh Gumba Foo: Don't worry :') only a few more chapters to go now. **

** LittleCatGirl: I'll try and work on the spelling thing (and grammar for that matter). Glad to hear you're enjoying it and thanks for the review.**

** Finalage: Thanks so much, this really motivated me! Also, you're right; I really don't focus on describing the background and looks of the character's, partly because I don't find it particularly easy, but also because I've always found the emotions of the characters far more interesting. Once again, thanks and hope you enjoy the rest of the story!**

** Talking of which, here's the next chapter; enjoy! :') Also, the name of the chapter's a contradiction in itself. I always have trouble thinking of decent chapter names to be honest, so hopefully this one makes _some_ sense.**

**Clear in a subtle way**

The next day Klavier awoke, once again, feeling quite unsettled and unhappy. He already unsure about what to do with himself. Part of him wanted to sit around and feel sorry for himself, but he was beginning to get sick of doing that.

So he liked Vera? Was that so bad? She was nineteen, so it wasn't exactly the largest age gap. That didn't even feel like the problem; the problem was that it was making it awfully hard for him to see a future in their friendship.

But this was getting silly, he'd spent too long moping around. He had to tell her, or at least show her he liked her. That was the only way to move on, wasn't it? That way she could turn him down and he could move on . . . and if not, then the problem had been removed.

She was kind to an incredibly degree; he knew she wouldn't get angry with him. He just dreaded seeing her brow furrow as she realised the man who had told her he'd help her, had inexplicably fallen for her.

He got dressed, styled his hair in that signature style and headed off to work, deciding he'd drop round and see her on the way home.

Work hadn't been great recently. His morale was at an all time low and he felt sluggish; like he was trying to run a marathon with water up to his waste. Basically, it wasn't easy and he was getting fed up of this depression. He felt like betrayal lay round every corner and he was finding it hard to trust people at work. Everyone wanted to get ahead and get promotions to earn more and while his desire to be wealthy had always been prominent he'd grown to be something of a sceptic. Did that money guarantee happiness? It didn't seem to from where he sat. All the same, he supposed if you had financial security it'd be one less thing to worry about.

But lately, whenever he'd found himself seeming paranoid or overly suspect he'd taken to reminding himself that not everyone was out to hurt him. There were _nice_ people around . . . like Vera.

"Klavier, how are those notes coming along?"

He yawned and sat back in his chair, staring at the wall. He'd been working all morning and it was almost lunch. Longing to be back in the court-room and actually doing something interesting he felt his stomach rumble.

"Klavier?"

Standing up and grabbing his wallet he turned around to see an angry Ema Skye, much like he had the day before.

"KLAVIER? Hellooooo, earth to Klavier? Are you in there?" she asked, her brow furrowed and looking thoroughly irritated.

"Wha-what? Oh, hey Ema, how long have you been there for?" he asked her.

She put her hands on her hips and tilted her head to the side. "What's up with you lately? It's like your heads been off somewhere else." she seemed to be struggling with herself, torn between annoyance and sympathy.

"I ah, I'm fine. Sorry, I have been distracted." he said, sounding quite genuine.

Squinting now, slightly she walked into his office and sat down, "Goodness, an apology?" she paused, " . . . You're really different now, y'know that?"

"I am?" he asked her, wondering what she meant exactly.

She nodded, "Yeah, I mean, you have your moments, but you're a lot less . . . how can I put this delicately? You've been less of a fop."

"Oh right? Um, thanks . . . I think."

"Look, I'm not your boss or anything, but maybe you should take the afternoon off work? I mean, you clearly can't concentrate properly."

He guessed this was her trying to be nice. He must've really turned into a sap lately if _Ema_ felt bad for him. All the same, it probably wasn't the worst idea ever.

"Maybe you're right? Y-yeah, I might do that." He grabbed his bag, as she got up and tried to flash her a smile.

"Cool. Okay, just make sure you catch up the work you missed . . . and whatever it is that's on your mind, sort it out, all right?"

He nodded thinking of Vera for a second, "All right, I'll try my best." he paused before going. "...Thanks Ema."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, whatever, don't get too comfortable with this. We're back to "Glimmerous Fop" and "Fauline Detective" on Monday, okay?"

But It wasn't much better at home as he felt awfully nervous about later, but to pass the time he wrote a song, and tried to get some chords down. Still, it was hard to concentrate on much other than what he would say later.

The song he'd written was about Vera, but he knew she wouldn't be one of those girls who'd like a man to turn up and sing a song to them. He knew her; she'd get embarrassed and find it difficult to know what to say. But the song did cheer him up a bit. It was the first time in weeks he'd felt like writing music.

He ate his dinner around four and decided he'd head round to hers for five-ish. Still feeling nervous and anxious he knocked on the door three times and waited for her to answer.

When she did she looked surprised and slightly taken aback. She was in a dressing down and her hair was in bouncy loose curls framing her flawless, ivory face.

"K-Klavier . . . hi." she said, with wide eyes. Clearly, she hadn't been expecting him, which was fair enough since he hadn't called ahead.

Against his will he blushed slightly. "Uh, hey; I err, just thought I'd call round and … see how you're doing." This was technically a lie, but he figured "I called round to tell you I think I'm falling in love with you" might be a little overwhelming for door-front talk.

"Oh, okay. That's good. Come in-" She smiled, but it was anxious smile and he followed her through the door.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you. I assume you going out somewhere with Trucy-" for a second he thought he detected the slightest hint of annoyance, but shook the thought off.

"No, not with Trucy." she seemed fidgety and was now staring at her coffee table as they'd both sat down on her sofa's. "I err, I have a date."

He felt something erupt inside his chest, a feeling he wasn't sure he'd ever felt before in his life, or at least if he had, never to this degree. This had to be what jealousy felt like.

Of course, he had a million questions; who was the guy?; where had they met?; did she like him a lot?; how old was he?; where did he live?; why couldn't she go out with him instead?. But he knew he couldn't ask all of those. It would make things too obvious. She'd be uncomfortable and he didn't want that. So instead, he went for:

"Oh, right. Sounds good. Who is he?" he said in his best cheery voice, even attempting a smile.

"This man I met . . . in the supermarket yesterday. He seems . . . nice." She was clearly embarrassed. God knows why; it was he who had overlooked the fact that other men might notice her and want to go out with her too.

"Oh, right..." was all he could think to say. He was making this far too obvious and an awkward silence set in. He scanned his mind for anything, _anything_ that he might say, whether it be a question, a compliment, a statement. Neither had said anything in far too long for it be passed off as a pause in conversation.

Surprisingly, though, it was Vera who spoke first. It was only she'd be getting better at conversing. "Did you have a good time yesterday?"

He almost did a double take. Why didn't he think of asking about the dance? It seemed so obvious now. "Y-yeah, besides the music, obviously." he replied, making a reference to the conversation they'd shared. "Cleaning up wasn't much fun, though."

She smiled a little, "Oh, did other people not help much, then?"

"No, it's more that other people made a lot of mess and then left."

"O-oh, sorry." she said, "I would've stayed later and helped, but-" she hesitated now and clearly thought better of whatever she was about to say, "but . . . I was tired."

Shaking his head he replied; "No, I wasn't saying you left loads of mess- you didn't. It's just that most people did. I mean, I had help, Ema stayed back, surprisingly, and helped and a couple of other detectives too.

They conversed for a little while longer, awkwardly, with nothing concrete to say, besides what he'd gone there to say, which now seemed widely inappropriate.

Finally, he thought of something vaguely real to say.

"I wrote a song the other day."

"You did?" she asked, looking a little surprised at the sudden change of topic.

He nodded, "I haven't written one in weeks, but earlier I picked up my guitar and it felt different . . . God, you'd think after everything I've been through, I'd be able to write millions about betrayal, but they words just didn't come."

She smiled slightly, "But they did earlier?"

"Yep."

She now wore and odd expression, he couldn't tell what she was thinking at all. Not that he usually could, he guessed she must keep the majority of her thoughts and emotions to herself.

"What's changed, then?"

Klavier knew what had changed, but he couldn't say it. He struggled with himself for a minute, wanting so badly to tell her that _she_ was what had changed him, somehow, her innocence, naivety and questions had helped him feel happier. That was before he'd realised how he'd felt and then that she may never be his.

So he couldn't put it plainly. "_You."_ was not an option for what he might say next, so he looked her in the eyes and tried to think how he say this, without actually _saying_ it.

"I guess someone . . . or _something," _he added, trying to keep it vague, "must've reminded me there are good people, really, really _nice_ people and that I need to trust that not everyone's going to, you know . . . betray me."

She had another expression, he felt it was most likely she was confused. How could she not be? He'd probably been _too_ subtle.

He stood up, it was time to go. There was something he had to say and he didn't want to stick around for the confused aftermath.

"I should go, Vera." she stood too and followed him to the door, "I don't wanna be here when your date arrives . . ."

And then as he was just about through her door frame he stopped, turned around and looked her straight in the eyes. She looked surprised at the intensity of his gaze, but this was no time to lack conviction.

"But when he gets here . . . tell him how lucky he is . . . and tell him there are _a lot_ of guys . . . myself included," he turned back around, not wanting to see her reaction now, "who'd absolutely love to be in his place."

And with that, he pulled the door shut and walked away.


	12. Bad choices

**Big thanks to Rahh Gumba Foo, VelleVette and LittleCatGirl for reviews, it's very much appreciated.**

** Okay, it's been a surprisingly long time (for me) since I've updated and that's because this chapter took me ages to write. I'm not completely sure why; I mean, it's had exams, a break-up and a new term at school to contend with. Also, this chapter's longer than usual and I found it tricky, like Vera, to think of things for them to talk about on their date. Luckily for me, I thought of "Where'd you grow up?" (Thanks for that one, **_**Friends**_**)**__**and this opened up the conversation nicely. Anyway, now I've written my life story, here's the next chapter. Hopefully, I'll update quicker next time? **

** Also, I feel kinda bad for Steve. I've made him a much too nice character to be in this love triangle. Oops :S**

**Bad Choices**

When the door shut, Vera wasn't really sure what to do with herself. She wasn't sure if what Klavier had said meant what it sounded like he meant and she felt funny. Her heart was suddenly pounding and she felt oddly light-headed. It would've been a nice feeling, only instead she just felt unsettled and slightly sick.

Had he meant it? That _he'd_ like to go on a date with _her?_ Shy, little Vera Misham who could barely hold a conversation without blushing. She could hardly believe it had even happened. That he'd said those things; that it was possible that he felt the same way as she did.

The problem was that she'd remembered why she felt sick and unsettled. It was the fact that while there was now a tiny ray of hope that Klavier had similar feelings to her, another man was taking her out in half an hour's time.

Of course, she couldn't call it off, but it would be short notice and she didn't want to be rude or to hurt his feelings. _What would Trucy do? s_he thought. She always seemed so decisive and was so much more worldly that Vera was.

But then, Trucy didn't know everything. As she'd said to Apollo, Vera wasn't Klavier's type and yet it seemed that despite this it seemed he might not care about that as much as originally perceived.

She needed to make a decision though, she had had to be decisive and strong for once. It wasn't the worst situation ever. She straightened herself up and headed back to her room to get ready. Vera had told Steve she'd go on a date with him, so she would.

Seven o'clock rolled around and there was a knock. Suddenly she felt nervous again. What if it went badly? What if they had nothing to talk about and it was awkward?

_No Vera, you have to be strong. You can do this._ She told herself.

"Hi," she said, opening the door to see Steve's standing with a bunch of flowers in a light blue shirt and black trousers.

He smiled warmly and handed then to flowers to her. "Hey, and these are for you." They were white Lily's and she felt a stab of guilt. He'd clearly gone to a lot of trouble which just made it worse. Was she making things worse by going ahead with this anyway?

"Thank you." She said politely, retreating back to her kitchen, preparing a vase to put them in with some water. "They're lovely . . . " she trailed off.

He blushed, "You look really, um . . . well, you look beautiful."

She'd been shopping earlier and very luckily managed to acquire a a lilac top with spaghetti straps that she wore with some black jeans and a pair of blue kitten heals (as she'd found all the high heals practically impossible to walk in.

Vera couldn't help but blush, "Thanks." deep down she knew her heart heart easily would side with Klavier, but it was nice to be told that, even if the niceness was somewhat ruined by the guilt in the pit of her stomach as she put her coat on and they went outside.

"So er, where are we going?" she wanted to distract herself from the awkwardness of the last thing he'd said. She was beginning to think this was a bad idea. The guilty feeling that lay in her stomach had mingled with the butterfly's in there, that she'd gotten when Klavier had left. It was hard not to think about him at a time like this.

"Well, I was thinking I'll take you to dinner and then I thought maybe a walk back through the park? Does that sound, okay?"

Why the park? The last time she'd been there it had been with Klavier. How was she supposed to stop thinking about him when everything reminded her of who it was she really wished she was with at that moment.

"Vera?" he said.

"Yeah?" worrying about what he was about to ask her.

He furrowed his brow slightly, "N-no, I was just prompting you, you never answered my question before. I asked if it sounded okay to you."

"O-oh, right. Yes, that sounds lovely, thanks."

They'd been walking down the pavement for a minute and she was beginning to feel glad she'd brought a jacket. The night air was cold on her skin, but the two of them soon reached his car.

"I didn't realise we were driving-" she said, she'd just assumed they were walking.

He nodded, walking round the other side of the car and opening the door for her, "Yeah, the restaurants a fifteen minute drive away and anyway, you look kind of cold . . . you can have my jacket as well if you're still cold inside."

_Is he doing this deliberately or something, to make me feel bad?_ She thought to herself. Apparently, he was the perfect gentleman, thought she was beautiful and wanted to take her to dinner and then for a romantic walk through the park. Too bad she liked someone else, because she'd probably be enjoying the date an awful lot.

The car journey went as well as expected. Awkward silence set in towards the end as they ran out of trivial matters to discuss, so Vera was somewhat relived when they pulled up into the car park at the restaurant. Them eating dinner seemed like a positive thing; they could talk about the menu; what looked good; and then when the food came they could talk about that and if they stopped talking it wouldn't matter because it would just seem like they were eating.

"I've eaten here before, so I know the food's pretty nice." he said, smiling, "have you ever, Vera?" he inquired, as they made their way over from the car.

Deciding that telling him she'd never actually eaten at a restaurant before might look a bit odd she shook her head and went with the alternative reply which was just, "No, but it looks really nice, here. I hope I brought enough money-"

"Money? No, no, dinner's on me, I'll pay obviously."

She was surprised, she hadn't expected him to pay and she didn't really understand why. "Um, how come? I mean, are you sure?"

He nodded as they stood in the queue to be seated. "Why? Well, because I'm the reason you're here. I asked you to come, so why should you have to pay? And yeah, it's fine. Maybe you could pay next time?" he said, with a grin which went away when he saw her expression.

Her face must have fallen, because he quickly replied, "I-I was kidding, obviously you don't have to go out with me again- Sorry, bad joke."

She attempted a smile, not meaning to upset him, "No, it's fine."

The waiter sat them at a nice table for two in the corner. The restaurant really was very fancy. She could tell this even though she had really limited experience . There were two different kinds of cutlery and she quickly panicked realising that when the time came she had no idea which to use when.

As they sat down he smiled at her and nodded at the waiter to when he asked if the table was okay. She faked a smile and quickly took a menu, not wanting to prologue the eye-contact. It was really was starting to seem that going on this date was a bad idea. As much as she kept trying to concentrate on the date, she couldn't. She couldn't get Klavier Gavin's face out of her mind and felt thoroughly dishonest going on a date when she liked someone else.

But how could she call it off now? He'd clearly gone to a lot of trouble for her and was being romantic. She couldn't just tell him she wanted to go home because she felt guilty and she wasn't sure why, but she had a feeling that wasn't a good idea.

They both looked through the menu in silence and chose what they wanted. Although she didn't have much trouble deciding what she would have, she deliberately spent longer looking so she had to time to think of new conversation topics.

"Everything looks lovely," she said, scanning down. This wasn't necessarily true, she'd always been a fairly fussy eater and many of the options on the menu sounded horrible to her.

"It does," he agreed, also looking at his menu for a while. "It's hard to choose, but I'm thinking I'll have the eel."

Vera had to remind herself of how rude it would be, to stop herself recoiling or pulling a face. The idea of eating rubbery eel disgusted her to say the least. Putting her menu away she decided to play t safe with the vegetarian spaghetti option.

"I'll have the vegetarian bolognese." she said to the waiter before Steve pitched his order as well and the waiter nodded and left again leaving them alone again.

"So . . ." he said, before the silence set in again and she uncomfortably looked down at the table, wanting to avoid eye-contact.

It felt like it went on for five minutes, but she assumed it had only been about half a minute until he finally thought of something to say.

"Where'd you grow up, Vera?"

It was a simple question, which was nice and easy to answer.

"Here, in this city . . . I've never even left it before." she added to the end, hoping to leave it as an open ended statement he'd find it easy to reply to.

He furrowed his brow, "Really? You've seriously never left this place, ever?" he asked.

Vera shook her head. "Nope, never-" she hesitated, unsure of whether to tell him the full story. She was pretty sure that went beyond the small talk of a first date though.

The thing was, she was certain he'd find it weird and normally she wouldn't like that, but it was quickly becoming clear to her that Steve and herself had very little to say. The dynamic between them didn't really work. He was shy and so was she and this really limited how much excitement there was on this date and she wasn't having much fun, there was no nervous anticipation that she felt whenever she was with Klavier; there was just nervousness.

"No, in fact, I've only really been going outside for a few weeks." she said. _Why not, at least now we'll have something to talk about._ She thought to herself.

Her sentence had the desired effect, he did look rather stunned.

"Wh-what? You're kidding? But you're like . . . sorry, how old are you?" he asked, his eyes wide.

She had to hold back a giggle at his reaction. Surely it wasn't that big of a deal?

"I'm nineteen, nearly twenty." she replied, "and no, I didn't want to go outside..." So it was a personal topic. Maybe she ought to get used to discussing it?

Steve still looked rather confused and questioned her further. "Oh, uh, why not, though?"

Now playing with her hands and staring at them as thought deeply absorbed she replied, "When I was little I nearly got kidnapped . . . it was so scary and I'm not sure I can remember ever experiencing a more horrible feeling." she paused, "and then afterwards I developed a phobia of going outside for a long time, a really long time and my Father even had to home-school me."

She Feeling his eyes on her she still avoided his gaze, "I'm so sorry, it must have been awful . . . how come you go outside now, then? If you don't mind me asking-"

"N-no, it's fine . . . my Dad recently died. He was murdered-"

"I'm sorry," she said, again, still staring at her.

Vera desperately wanted to skirt past this part of the story though, before she cried or did something else embarrassing, so she nodded in response and continued.

"I guess during the case, well, I learned I couldn't stay inside forever . . . and I met nice people . . . _really_ nice people who helped me over-come my fear and well, I'm getting a little better, I suppose."

There would always be that little bit of lingering regret that she'd wasted so long being inside and afraid, but at the same time, she felt she'd been given a second chance to live.

"Who were the nice people, like, social workers or something?" he asked.

"No, people involved in the case; the defence attorney, his aide, her father . . . and weirdly, the brother of the man who killed my Father . . . he's been the biggest help."

He smiled a little in response and then replied, "What did they do?"

Things weren't exactly going as expected as she'd expected him to think she was weird and be put off, but instead he seemed to be fascinated by every word and eager to know more.

"Well, I guess they just spoke to me, helped me with my social skills, especially Klavier . . . he took me for walks outside and helped me find new things to paint when I was stuck and he was just generally kind to me . . . they all were and it helped me learn to trust and feel safe outside again."

"_Klavier?_" he asked, looking confused. She'd absent-mindedly used his first name, forgetting he didn't even know who Klavier was.

"Oh, um, the prosecutor on my Father's case and the brother of the man who killed him . . . I know it's weird, but what's more weird is how different he is from his brother . . . he's so kind and strong and wanted to make amends for everything which means a lot-" she stopped, figured she'd probably accidentally said too much. His name had easily been mentioned more than anyone else's. In fact, she hadn't even_ told _him the names of her other friends.

Finally looking up at him he saw he was looking at her with a curious expression. It was hard to read, especially for Vera who already had trouble reading other people.

But the conversation ended swiftly as the food arrived and they were given knew things to discuss.

Of course, for the rest of the meal, she didn't mention Klavier. It was bad enough that she wished she was on a date with him instead and had been thinking about him all night, without her bringing him into the conversation every five minutes.

Going on this date, she decided, had most certainly been a _very _bad choice.


	13. Unexpected visitor

**Thanks again Rahh Gumba Foo and LittleCatGirl, we finally we have another chapter. Maybe it hasn't been that long since the last one, but this took me a whole afternoon to write and is longer than my average chapter. **

** Anyway, I don't want to give anything that happens away so I'll be vague with this. Hopefully no one seems out of character (namely Klavier or Vera). They may seem little different, but their in unusual circumstances and have both grown as people since Vera's trial, hence the change. Maybe i'm just being paranoid, I'm just a little worried people might be like "Vera's out of character!". Well, hopefully she's not, right? ;D **

Unexpected visitor 

As the evening went on, Vera found herself feeling progressively more and more nervous about the end of the night. What was going to happen? Would he sense she wasn't interested, shake her hand and go, or would he lean in and kiss her as the night drew to an end? While Steve was a fairly attractive man, Vera found herself more in favour of the first option. He was nice, but at the end of the day, she found, as much as she _wanted_ to have her first kiss, she didn't want it to be from Steve.

She wondered if he sensed this as they nearly reached her door, his jacket around her shoulder and he'd insisted in walking her right up to her doorstep.

He wasn't helping things at all. Why did he have to turn out of be such a nice man? And Why couldn't Klavier have told her how he felt before she'd made such a rash decision?

"Well, err, well . . . tonight's been . . . really nice, Vera. We should do this again sometime." He said, he looked just as nervous as she did. Probably for different reasons, though. He was staring at her now, his eyes baring down into hers and she found herself unable to break the eye-contact for once. Vera's heart raced, this was it, he was leaning in, his face inches from her hers, hesitantly hovering there.

It was one thing being told how to reject a man, but another being brave enough to do it in the moment, to turn away in those crucial seconds before your lips met. Like lightening she moved her cheek and his lips crashed into her face and he pulled back quickly.

Instantly she could feel her cheeks turning bright red and they felt hot to the touch. Her automatic reaction was to stutter out;

"S-sorry-"

His cheeks had turned red too now, it was cringe-inducing, watching him get so embarrassed. The worst part was, this really wasn't his fault.

"Err, n-no, it's fine; I shouldn't have- that is, I mean, I thought that, well . . .", he trailed off. She couldn't have felt worse if she tried. "It was too soon, it's only our first date, maybe-" But he was all wrong. He thought she'd turned away because she was shy and he was rushing her. Maybe she was about to make things worse, but she had to explain.

"Steve," Vera felt she sounded more decisive using his first name, "I'm sorry. You didn't do anything wrong, I could let you . . . kiss me, because I have feelings for someone else-"

"O-oh, well-" He winced slightly making her want to stop speaking more than ever, but he was owed the truth.

"Please, let me finish," She'd never had the confidence to cut across anyone before and she didn't feel particularly great doing it now. "I-I shouldn't . . . have agreed to go out with you, it wasn't fair. I knew how I felt, but I said I would anyway . . . and I shouldn't have let you pay either, so please accept this-" she reached into her bag and handed him the same amount of money the meal had cost.

Only he was shaking his head. He still looked a little sad, but he didn't look annoyed which she felt almost glad about. "Vera, it's fine, really. It was a pleasure to take you out tonight and to be honest, I kind of guessed you might not . . . you know, be as into this as I am. I thought you might like someone else-"

She felt puzzled, "How could you tell?"

He shrugged, "Just little things, you didn't look at me much, and the way you talked about that guy at the start of our meal. Callum or something?"

"Klavier," she corrected him by default. "I'm so sorry-"

"Like I said, it's cool. These things happen." he paused and looked at her. "Just promise me you'll tell him how you feel, though, okay? He's a lucky man."

She nodded, unable to think of much else to say in reply. He leaned in again and for one crazy moment, she thought he was about to try and kiss her again, but he went for the cheek deliberately this time.

"Well, I'll see you around, maybe? Good luck." He smiled at her and she smiled a little back, before he turned around and walked away.

The smiled fell off her face quickly though as she realised the moment she'd gone inside, that now she'd have to admit to Klavier how she felt. While it was encouraging that he'd indicated he liked her too, the idea wasn't appealing. She found it hard enough rejecting a man, let alone confessing her feelings.

She wasn't even sure how she was meant to do this. As she climbed into her pyjamas she thought about it. Would it be best to contact him, or wait for him to contact her? What if he didn't? What if he'd changed his mind, or thought she wasn't interested. Panicky questions raced through her mind and while she had a lot to think about, she didn't have long to think about it.

At eleven there was a knock at the door and she pulled on her dressing gown and went to answer it. Who'd be calling so late? Everyone who knew her, knew she wasn't one to stay up late and Vera had been in bed by ten after she'd gotten in.

Her heart leapt as she opened the door and saw the anxious face of Klavier Gavin staring back at her?

She squinted, "Klavier?" she asked, making a massive effort to appear calmer than she actually was. Inside her heart thumped against her chest and she could hardly believe he was standing on her doorstep at eleven at night and that he was specially there to speak to her.

"Heeey, Vera. How're you doing?"

He looked odd. In fact, she'd never seen him like this before, or even close to a state like this. For a start, his usually impeccably neat hair-do looked messy. There were odd strands falling forward across his eyes and his face has slight tinges of redness in the cheeks. It was almost as though he was blushing.

She shook her head, "N-no, I - not much anyway . . ." Well aware this made no sense, but brushing this fact off she asked, "What're you doing here? . . . Do you want to come in?" He actually looked rather cold, almost dishevelled. It was rather serene seeing him in this state.

"Yeah . . . sure. Alright." He followed her inside and she tried to ignore that a voice in her head kept constantly reminding her she was wearing a pink dressing-gown over purple pyjamas, decorated with pink sheep, while Klavier Gavin was in her house.

He collapsed onto one of the sofas, splaying his arms and legs out. She stared at him. There was definitely something different about him now, he was acting strangely, but it was hard to put her finger on how. Then it hit her-

"Klavier, are you drunk?"

"Whaaaa? No, no, I'm fine, really, I'm not even slightly . . . d-drunk. Sit down, Vera . . . hey, so . . . I know . . . it's craaaazy me turning up like this . . . I mean, it's what?" He looked at his wrist, before rolling his eyes, "Whoops, I don't even have watch, haha. Anyway, it's, like, eleven, which . . . it's not that late, but I know you don't stay up late exactly . . .so yeah, it's weird me turning up like this, right?"

With no idea what to say, she just carried on staring down at him, taking a second to perch on the arm of her sofa. "I err, yes, it is a bit weird, yeah."

"But here's the thing, _here_ is the thing," he repeated, "I, y'know, being your friend, I just had to know, _how_ that date you went on . . ._ went_." his words were rather slurred, but she got the general gist.

She paused, she's never really been around someone drunk before. Her father always been t-total and now she knew what drunk men were like, she was very glad of this fact. He was acting so oddly, so unlike he normally was, but his words almost had a bitter edge to them. The jealousy in his voice was clear and while she hated he was drunk, she quite liked the idea of knowing he was jealous.

"It- It was fine. It went okay, thanks for asking."

He nodded and looked a little like he'd just swallowed something sour, "W-well, that's just _great . . . great_, good for you, better for him. I'm happy for you, I think you'll make a great- a great _couple_."

Vera felt something, a feeling she wasn't very familiar with. It was a feeling of anger, of irritation. She didn't like the sarcasm in his voice, the idea that _if_ the date had gone well, he'd be annoyed; that he _wouldn't_ be happy for her.

"Thanks." she said, in a voice that was as close to cold as she could get. "I'm glad your happy."

He was silent now, playing with his hands in his lap, still spread out over the sofa.

Part of her wanted to tell him the truth, which was that while date had gone well, they weren't seeing each other again before she had feelings for him. But the other part of her? It was angry, angry that he'd turned up at her flat, drunk, and that he was being so rude.

Eventually he sighed and stood up. "Well, well, I- um, I'd best- best be going- leaving-you probably don't- hic- want me here-" Klavier stood up and shakily walked off towards the door, stumbling and falling over once or twice.

"Klavier," she began, her voice louder and sharper than she'd originally meant. Turning quickly he nearly knocking the case of flowers Steve had left her over. They wobbled, but remained up-right.

She'd had it, a little jealousy? That was flattering, but this? This was absurd.

"You're not going anywhere. You've clearly drank to much and well, I guess it's not my business why, but you shouldn't have come here like this-" her voice wobbled, like the vase had a moment ago. Anger turned to upset, he'd hurt her feelings somehow. She'd made silly mistakes like going out with Steve, but she'd never have tried to upset him deliberately.

"You're acting like- like an i-idiot," there was something else she'd never done; called someone an idiot. "Maybe you're upset that I went out with someone else, maybe you were shocked to think that _someone_ else might have noticed me too and liked me- But here's the truth, I went out with him because _you_ ignored me for ages, _you_ never gave me any idea you might like me and _you _waited until before bothering to tell me."

It was like playing someone else's part in a film, saying things that didn't sound at all like her. The words didn't sound as though they'd come out of Vera Misham's mouth. She didn't tell people off, and she'd never felt like she needed to before. It suddenly hit her that she'd been so happy and surprised he'd felt the same that, earlier, she'd ignored the part of her that was annoyed he hadn't indicated he liked her before. The fact he'd ignored her at times and not called round for ages, even though he'd promised to help her.

"I-I only ignored you because I-I liked you, Vera and it was stupid-"

"How was it stupid? I'm not twelve, it's not that stupid that you might be feeling that way?" She was crying now and the situation had a ridiculously dramatic feel to it. She'd never felt so confrontational in her life.

He shook his head, steadying himself on the table, "No, but it was stupid, the idea that _you'd_ ever- ever be interested in me-"

She rolled her eyes, feeling slightly sceptical, but blushing slightly as well. She honestly had trouble believing Klavier would be so bashful and modest. What girl _didn't_ want to go out with him?

"You're being stupid _now. _Do you know how horrible it was having you now speak to me for weeks? Watching you flirt at that party the other night? It was horrible, but I didn't turn up at your house, drunkly and sarcastically tell you how happy I am for you-"

"Sarcasic, I mean, sarcastic! Oh, I'm happy for you, Vera- I really am, I'm happy your date went well, the person- the person that I'm n-not happy for is Klavier, I mean, me."

He'd now stumbled back over the sofa, clearly remembering she'd ordered that he sleep on the couch tonight.

Everything she'd wanted to say was said now, she walked over to the door that lead to her room, "Maybe you need to cheer up then, because I'm not seeing him again."

She shut the door behind him and heard a rustling in her living room and then his voice outside her bedroom door. "Wha- you-you're not? Come back outside a minute."

Grateful he wasn't so wasted that he'd burst into the room, but not actually wanting to go outside she called, "Go to bed, Klavier. I'll talk to you tomorrow, when you're not drunk any more." She felt weirdly elated and uncharacteristically assertive ordering him around like this.

"Veraaa," he whined. "Pleaase come outside . . . or- or I'll come in." he added. He didn't sound properly threatening, he added it jokingly she assumed or rather hoped.. All the same, she didn't want to risk it. He room was embarrassingly girly and while she felt quite sure he wouldn't remember what it looked like tomorrow, she didn't fancy him seeing it all the same.

She opened to door sharply, giving no before-hand indication that she would, he jumped back in surprise and then straightened up as much as he could. Vera decided she didn't find drunk Klavier half as attractive as sober Klavier.

He looked at her, his breathing seemed heavier than usual and he was staring right at her. The only part of him that didn't seem unsteady was his eyes.

"Y-you're really, really not seeing him again?" he sounded a little like an excited child. If he hadn't been wasted, it might have been endearing.

She shook her head, "No, I told him I couldn't go out with him because, well, just because."

"That-_that _is brilliant news . . . not for him- er, or me, y'know, I'm not thinking that you'd – hic!- want to- that you would-"

"Klavier, please, just go to bed."

And with that she shut the door, but only because despite how annoyed she was with him, she'd been having trouble suppressing the smile that kept trying to creep across her lips at seeing how happy he was that she wasn't seeing Steve again.

Also, she'd felt worried he might try and kiss her if she'd kept it open much longer and she certainly didn't want her first kiss with him to be drunk, assuming that they may eventually kiss.

So smiling slightly, in spite of everything, she climbed back into bed and tried hard to forget that he was metres away, on the other side of the wall and tried to ignore the awkward fact that he would most likely be there tomorrow when she woke up.

_Oh well_, she decided, pulling the covers up and making herself comfortable. She'd cross that bridge when she came to it.

**For the record, this fic's turning out to be a lot longer than I planned and the Klavier turning up drunk was a spur of the moment idea that I decided I liked. Originally, he was just ****going to turn up. I'm quite pleased with how this turned out to be honest. Next chapter shouldn't be too long and I'm thinking I only need another two to finish it.**

**I found it hard to write dialogue for a drunk person. I'm sure that wasn't obvious at all though ;) **


	14. The Elephant in the room

** Thanks LittleCatGirl for the review and all of the reviews as the story is drawing to a close- . . . -ish. Still this one and then maybe another two chapter? This is _so_ much longer than I intended it to be, but whatever, I've really enjoyed writing it and am still now as it's not finished.**

** Anyway, enjoy! :']**

**The Elephant in the room**

The first thing he saw was the table leg in front of him, only inches away from his face. His neck hurt and his hips hurt, but more that anything, it was his head that was the real problem. The minute his eyes had opened it had felt like a tiny marching band we stomping around on top of his brain. Shutting his eyes hastily, he groaned.

He had a horrible feeling he was about to be sick.

But he couldn't get up. He breathed some of the fibres of the carpet and it quickly alerted him the fact he was on the floor as he coughed as they tickled his throat.

Klavier really hated mornings like this. Not that he'd had many lately, but on the occasions he did, they sucked. Waking up, with next to no memory, no clue where he was and that feeling that a good vomiting session was imminent. Trying to sit up he groaned. There didn't seem to be a lot of room in-between the table and whatever his back was against. Groping with his hand he felt leather.

_It must be a sofa, I must've been sleeping on it and fell off at some point in the night._ _Now to figure out where the hell I am._

He managed to negotiate his body so he was sitting up and even managed to prop himself up onto the sofa. Then he had a good look around the room and instantly knew where he was.

What on earth was he doing at Vera's house, completely hungover and sleeping on her floor?

This was when, inevitably, things came flooding back.

He started to remember what had happened after he left Vera's house last night; the way he'd felt like such a fool for telling her when she was about to go out on a date with some random guy. How could he have been so stupid as to admit it like that?

Feeling like a complete loser, he'd walked down the street, dragging his feet and staring down at the pavement. He'd ran his fingers through his hair sleepily and decided he needed a drink.

Surprisingly, he'd never been a big drinker. It came with the territory for being in a rock band; it helped with his image that he could certainly hold his drink, but generally, he didn't make a habit of getting out-of-his-head drunk. Especially not to deal with personal issues.

But last night, he remembered feeling different. It was as though he couldn't be bothered to do the sensible thing. He'd felt reckless and couldn't see the harm in drinking a glass of scotch or two to numb the pain of rejection.

So he went in and ordered one, and another, and then another and he'd gotten talking to the bar-man. He couldn't recall _exactly _what they'd spoken about, but he knew they'd ended up discussing his situation and then this other man had joined in. He was completely wasted and sat near him and the bar-man. He'd been eaves-dropping and had some advice.

The man was the sort of person that normally, while sober, Klavier wouldn't have dreamt of taking advice off, but by the he was about four Scotch's short of normal.

"Wha- hic! - Wha you wanna do is, turn up at er' house and- and pro- pro-" the word he'd been searching for was profess, but Klavier didn't get that until now, "-tell her how you feel, or- or failin' that – hic!- preten' to be all caring, like you care about this d-date she went on- Girl's, they love that thing- when -hic!- you preten' to care and stuff."

Somehow it had all seemed like a good idea at the time, but sitting there on Vera's sofa the next day and remembering everything, it was cringe-inducing to say the least.

And so with the wise words of wisdom from the drunk man at the bar, he'd stumbled back to her place, hours later, and knocked. He may have been drunk, but he remembered feeling anxious, and remembering, in spite of his alcohol level, that Vera always went to bed early. He'd hesitated and now he wished now he'd permanently done so and walked away avoiding the whole embarrassing incidence.

It was especially horrible as he realise how obvious he'd made everything. She'd told him she was dating someone, he'd basically confessed his feelings and gone off to drown his sorrows. He would've felt vulnerable about this with most girls, but he knew Vera was too nice to take advantage.

He'd known this last night too when she'd let him in. Everything was coming back now, she'd not been dressed properly, definitely covered up though, he knew that and he could picture the confused look upon her face as he'd slumped down somewhere.

This was when he went blank . . . there was just this gap between then and before he'd gone to bed. Unsure of _exactly_ what had been said, with no proper conviction to his thoughts (as he had been pretty wasted and may have dreamed the situation up), he could remember one key thing that Vera had said:

"_Maybe you need to cheer up then, because I'm not seeing him again._"

Klavier reasoned that this had only stood out to his memory because it had ignited such a response from him. He'd felt elated, happy; suddenly, it felt the nice kind of drunk rather than the angry bitter kind he had been before.

And then there wasn't anything else. He may as well have fallen down onto the floor and slept from then on and for all the knew, he had.

Of course, now all he had to worry about was the fact he could have merely dreamt what she'd said, or imagined it and if he figured this out it was hardly the end of his problems- Turning up at Vera's house night was possibly the worst idea he'd ever had in his life. What had he been thinking?

_But I wasn't thinking, was I? _He thought, sadly to himself, _All I can do now if pray I haven't completely messed things up._

He looked over at the that clock hung above the mantle-piece and saw it was getting late, it was nearly midday and he had no idea where Vera was. For all he knew she was still asleep, or she'd gone out not wanting to share the same space as him.

Suddenly another part of his night came back, but he could barely believe this part had happened. Strange as it was, he had memories of Vera shouting at him, crying.

It almost physically pained him to think of how he'd hurt her. How would be make this right? He'd promised to help her and yet it somehow seemed the roles had been switched and that she had a better grasp on her life, than he had on his.

Now standing up he took a tentative look around the room. She had an open plan kitchen, living room, diner and he saw a note scribbled on the back of some scrap paper on the table. He nervously picked it up and read it:

"Klavier – I don't know if you'll find this, or just leave when you wake up, but I went out to get some shopping. I'm no expert on these things, but I left some pain-killers out on the kitchen top in-case your head hurts when you wake up. I won't be long, it's up to you whether you stay or not. - Vera."

Klavier furrowed his brow.

_Well what does that mean?_ He thought, did it mean she wanted him to stay or not? He wasn't sure if he could face her after all this, but would it look ungrateful if he just snook out before she got back?

He didn't have long to ponder this as there was the sound of keys on the door and he leapt backward in shock, dropping the note and panicked. He had an awful feeling this was going to be awkward.

Straight away he saw she had shopping bags, which was expected as she'd said that was what she was doing in her note. Struck with silence he stood by the table looking like a deer in the headlamps. How do you greet someone when you're hung-over and the last time you saw them, you acted like a total pratt?

But Klavier didn't need to worry too much; she looked calm and more collected than he'd ever seen her.

"Hi," she said casually walking past and dropping the bags down onto the side, "How're you feeling?"

He paused, feeling very surprised at how normal she seemed. There was something different about her. She almost seemed to hold an air of confidence she'd never possessed before.

"Ah- I – err," Stuttering and rubbing his hands over his eyes to get rid of the sleep he tried attempted to form a coherent sentence, but struggled, "Well, err rough, I guess."

"I'm not surprised. You were really, well, you know-"

"Smashed? Yeah, look, Vera, I just want to apologise for last night. I acted like a complete twit and well, just really badly. I don't know what I was thinking turning up like that." he looked down. Partly because he felt it looked more convincing and also because she was staring at him.

She shrugged, "It's okay, these things happen, I guess. Well, I can't say that for sure because things like this don't usually happen to me . . . but I'm sure they do." she paused and he said nothing. He had a feeling she still had something to say. He wasn't wrong; ". . . Klavier, some of the stuff you said last night . . . well, more the way you acted-"

Suddenly feeling his cheeks turn red he turned away. _Oh God, _he thought, knowing what was coming.

"- It kind of made it look like . . . maybe I was reading into it too much-"

_Reading into it too much? If I said half the stuff I remember saying last night I think I made myself pretty clear. Typical that she'd be too modest to just come out and tell me how obvious I made it that I was jealous,_ he thought, raising his eyebrows.

"-but . . . it doesn't matter, I mean, I don't think you'll even remember anything you said. I-It's not important." She'd clearly lost her nerve, stuttering and rushing the end of the sentence.

He sighed, knowing that since she wasn't going to bring up the elephant in the room, he was clearly going to have to.

"Vera . . ." he paused, "I meant it _and_ I remember what I said and how I acted and you weren't reading into it too much." Funny that she'd learnt to read into things now. She'd been at inferring knowledge only weeks ago. Then again, he hadn't exactly been remotely subtle. Klavier had to turn round, else he knew the whole situation would be far too impersonal. It was time for him to stop doing things by half, stand up and go for it.

He spoke before she had a chance to come up with an answer and saw she seemed speechless anyway, "I need to make this up to you, Vera. Would you let me take you out to dinner tomorrow night? To apologize and for the other reason . . . y'know . . . and if you don't feel the same, then that's fine, we can just go as friends."

She'd turned bright red and seemed to be back to her old self, which he didn't mind. He found her shyness incredibly endearing, but couldn't enjoy the moment at all as, unsurprisingly, his heart was pounding as he waited for the answer which would actually be an indication as to whether she felt even slightly how he did.

After what, to him felt like five minutes, she replied, "O-okay, yeah, you can . . ."

It was like being suspended in mid-air, waiting to either be rescued, or plummet down to his doom. His banging headache wasn't helping his situation in the slightest. She'd said yes, but was it too going on a date, or just an apology dinner? There was no use beating around the bush, he needed to know.

"Ah right, do you mean as-" he began.

She smiled slightly, "You should probably go, Trucy said she was coming round at half past and she'll be here in a minute-"

Feeling a little put out he nodded and got up and headed towards the door. Just as he'd opened she spoke again.

"-and Klavier, I er, I meant yes to both reasons."

He turned around, "Awesome, I'll er, pick you up at five tomorrow evening then?" She nodded and he turned back around and left, feeling a little nauseous, but grinning from ear to ear all the same.

Suddenly, he wasn't regretting his drunken, late-night visit half as much as before.

**Not the most realistic hangover maybe, as he seemed to get over it quicker than usual, but I tried my best. :L**


	15. Giddy disbelief

** Oh golly, I haven't updated this in over a year, I don't think! I guess I lost my thread. I kinda hate not finishing a story though, so even though this is guaranteed no reviews I'm gonna post the last few chapters. Sounds lazy but I cba to check through this for spelling etc. It's, like, half one and I'm tired, so enjoy my over-use of commas and spelling mistakes. :)**

Giddy disbelief 

Vera stood on the same spot for a few minutes after Klavier had left, still not quite able to process what had just happened.

She was going on a date with _Klavier Gavin._

_ Klavier Gavin _the rock star.

_ Klavier Gavin, _the man who seemed to genuinely like her for being herself.

Had this actually been agreed, or had she had some kind of glorious fantasy that she'd be rudely awakened from when he didn't turn up the following evening?

Vera certainly hoped not. Excitement bubbled in her chest already, but she knew she should probably calm down before Trucy got there and anyway, she hated to be pessimistic, but how was she to know it'd work out between them for sure?

After what didn't seem like long there was a knock at the door and Vera let Trucy in. Calming down hadn't been entirely possible and she guessed she probably still had an excited enery surrounding her as Trucy instantly asked:

"Woah, what happened to you? You're grinning like a Cheshire Cat!"

Making sure she avoided Trucy gaze, she shrugged, "Nothing, I'm just in a good mood."

_Bad idea_, she thought to herself. Lying had never even slightly been her strong point, unsurprisingly. What harm could telling Trucy do anyway?

She wasn't shocked to see Trucy didn't buy her excuse. "Vera . . . " She giggled, "go on, you know you want to tell me. So spill!"

Pausing before deciding that Trucy would go on and on until she confessed, she felt it was probably best to just come clean.

". . . Klavier asked me out on a date." she said, trying to convincingly take the grin out of her voice. She failed, of course.

Trucy's eyes grew wide with shock, "Seriously? Oh my Gosh . . . Vera, that's brilliant . . . wha-how did that happen? I mean it's just-"

Despite the lack of eloquence, Vera could see where Trucy was coming from. Sure, Vera had told Trucy how she'd felt about him, but Klavier had never indicated he felt the same until last nights events.

"It's a long story really . . . " Vera said. It really was; she wasn't sure how best to summarize it either.

"Well . . . summarize it then?" Trucy replied, ironically.

Subtlety grimacing, she started playing with the ends of her hair, "I guess, what happened, in, uh, short, is that he found I was going on a date with someone else-"

"Who?" Trucy asked, immediately.

Vera blushed, "Oh, just this guy from the supermarket who asked me out the other day . . . " She said, trailing off, not particularly wanting to go into further details. "Anyway, he found out I was going out on a date and he got all jealous and basically told me he liked me . . . and then on the date-"

"Wait," Trucy cut across her again. _For someone who wanted to hear the story so badly, she sure cuts across my speech a lot_, Vera thought. "You still went out on the date?"

"Well, yeah, he turned up about 30 minutes before-hand, so I couldn't really have cancelled. That would have been really short-notice-"

She nodded, thoughtfully, "Fair point, how did it go?"

Vera paused to think about it, tilting her head to side slightly, " . . . He was really nice and I had a good time . . . but it didn't matter because the whole time I kept thinking about what Klavier said before he left-"

"Awwwww," Trucy said said, softly, looking like she'd just been introduced to a basket of kittens. "That's adorable! What did he say?"

"Oh, err, yeah, I guess it is and he said that I should tell the guy he's lucky, because a lot of men, himself included, would love to be in his place . . . or something like that." she supposed Trucy had a point. It was a pretty romantic thing to say. "Anyway, when I got back Klavier turned up at the door again-"

"Aww-" she began again, but this time it was Vera's turn to cut across.

"Yeah, you say that now, but what you haven't heard is he was drunk."

"Seriously?" she asked, "What happened?"

"At first I was put out, because he seemed kinda angry and bitter, but then . . . well, it started to annoy me. So I shouted at him-"

"YOU shouted at him?"

_Did she think I wasn't capable of shouting or something?_ "Yes, I know, it really wasn't like me at all. _Anyway_," she said, for what felt like the millionth time, "I told him I wasn't seeing the guy again and he cheered up and then this morning, as an apology for what he did, he said he wanted to take me to dinner-"

Trucy smiled, expectantly, "-And what did you say?"

"Obviously, I said yes and he said something about it not just being an apology dinner if I didn't want, because he'd like to take me on a date and I said yes to that too."

Squealing out a noise that sounded a lot like "Eeeee!", Trucy grinned. "This is so cute! I'm so happy for you, Vera!"

Vera smiled back, "I still can't believe he feels the same, I mean, you had a really good point the other day; I'm really not his type, at all."

Trucy's smile faded and she looked uncomfortable, "Wait, you heard me and Apollo talking?"

She clapped her hand over he mouth; she'd completely forgotten she hadn't meant to tell Trucy that. Nodding and cringing at the same time she turned away. This had the potential to make things very awkward.

"I'm so so sorry, Vera. I didn't know you were listening and I know that sounds bitchy, but I swear, I didn't mean to be. I was just worried you might get hurt-"

She shook her head, "It's fine, Trucy. I know you didn't mean it in a horrible way, it was just . . . true. I'm _not _his type. He dates models and and other singers; I just can't believe he wants to date . . . me." Her thought progressed quickly and quickly, she could feel herself panicking. "Maybe he doesn't want to? I must have miss-understood him or something; I'm quiet, I have terrible social skills, I'm not pretty or particularly good at anything and I'm so inexperienced-"

"Vera, don't be ridiculous! Firstly, your social skills are getting better by the day, secondly, you're very pretty and I'm not just saying that because we're friends. Oh, and thirdly, "not good at anything"? Have you _seen_ your artwork? It's incredible! And I'm not sure being "experienced" is necessarily a good thing, okay?" Trucy paused for breath, "The only reason you're thinking these things is because you're nervous; but you don't need to be. We're going to go shopping, make sure you looks extra incredible and your date's going to well, gottit?"

"Err," Vera said, slightly blown away by Trucy's speech, "If you say so," she forced a smile, but deep down she felt just as terrified as before. What had she been thinking falling for someone like him? They were so different; how was it ever going to work out?


	16. We'll get there

_** Ah, the final chapter, FINALLY. I swear I started this story like...two years ago or something now. I just finished this and it's six pages long...) I did edit, but it's me y'know? Grammar and punctuation aren't my strong points exactly.**_

_** This finale contains awkwardness, fairy-lights, bitchy waitress's and a scene where someone goes into someone else's house for coffee and actually has coffee and not sex. I also start a disproportionately large amount of my sentence with "She", so sorry 'bout tha', 'Arry. **_

_** Please, enjoy! :) Oh, and review if you like? **_

Trucy stayed true to her promise and the shopping trip was a success. Even Vera had to admit she thought she looked pretty good in the dress that they'd picked out; a grey, shimmery halter back which she'd wear with a pair of white kitten healed sandals. They'd decided with proper heals she'd look too dressed up for dinner and there was also the fact that Vera didn't actually know where Klavier was taking her.

The next day, as half five rolled around ever so slowly, it was hard to tell whether time was seeming to speed up for her or slow down. The excitement and anticipation mingled with the fear and anxiety that she felt. She found herself getting ready far too early and having to sit around for a good half and hour before Klavier got there.

Opening the door and trying her best to look as calm and collected as possible under the circumstances, she smiled shyly and saw he was wearing a pair of smart black trousers, a white shirt with the top two buttons undone and his hair neat as ever curled around to the left of his neck.

She blushed slightly; he looked_ really_ good.

"Vera . . . " she felt her heart leap slightly as she saw he was blushing too, "You . . . you look incredible." he handed her a a single rose which unfortunately for her did nothing but add to her blush. Sure, he'd done something that she knew Trucy would call "cheesy", but she didn't care. "Cheesy" romance was all she knew.

"Thanks," she said, taking the rose and grabbing a small vase from the cupboard to put it into. "You look good too."

Unfortunately, she felt uncomfortably aware that only two nights ago she'd carried out the same pre-date ritual with Steve. _But I really, really like Klavier, it'll be different this time, _she told herself, and she turned back around to look at him. "So err, where are we going?" she asked, wanting to break the slightly awkward silence that had set in. It was odd seeing him nervous and awkward; she'd always found him to be the one carrying the conversation. Maybe he was just as nervous as she was?

"Well, not to be a complete cliché', what with the rose and everything," he grinned bashfully, "but I was thinking dinner, my treat; seeing as this is half an apology meal. I know this place that does really good food and there's something else about it that I have a feeling you'll like-"

"Ooh," he'd piqued her interest now, "What is it?"

"That," He smiled, somewhat mysteriously, "is a surprise. You'll have to wait and see."

Smiling back slightly she grabbed her jacket (her dress, while rather pretty, wouldn't keep her warm much) and they left the apartment, "Fine, sounds interesting."

As they left her apartment she rather hoped they wouldn't be walking to the restaurant, because while her heals weren't all that high, they weren't the most comfortable shoes and the strap between the big toe and second toe was already rubbing slightly. Her wish was granted as out of the corner of her eye she spied his impressively large motorcycle.

The blood almost rushed out of her face as she was filled with a sense of dread. Surely they weren't going to ride _that_ the restaurant?

How wrong she was. She stared at him, almost dumb-struck as he chucked her a helmet.

"K-Klavier . . . we-we're not riding th-_this_, right? I mean, I can't possibly,"

Looking slightly confused, he furrowed his brow, "Er, yeah, did you not realise this was our, er, method of transport?"

"_No_," She knew she sounded incredulous, almost rude, but there was no way she was climbing onto that death-trap. No way at all.

"O-okay, I know you're probably thinking it's dangerous, right? Wrong. It's not, I ride it all the time and there's not a scratch on me. Look, you'll have a helmet and you can wear my leather jacket if you want."

He made an acceptable point, all the same, she frantically searched her mind for a reason why she couldn't. "B-but my dress! Yes! What about that? It'll get ruined or stretched if I get on there."

He walked towards her and took her hand, making it rather impossible for her to make a sound as he pulled her towards him, "Your dress will be fine. I've had girls ride on her in skirts far shorter than that-"

Klavier stopped, apparently realising what he'd said and then paused for a second, perhaps waiting for her reaction. Funnily enough she found herself unsurprised. Of course he'd been out with a lot of girls. It didn't exactly make her happy, but he was with her now, right?

When he didn't get one he looked a little relieved and continued, "You'll be fine Vera. If I thought you couldn't do this I'd call a taxi, right? But I need you to trust me, you can do this."

Personally, Vera wasn't so sure about that. But it seemed he wouldn't budge on the matter and there was a bit of her, very, very deep down inside of her, that was curious as to what to might feel like to ride on a motorbike.

"Fine. . . I'll give it a go." he smiled and nodded as she put on the helmet, "_But_..."

"Ah, there would be a "but"."

"If I hate it, you have to stop it and call a taxi."

"You won't hate it. It's incredible."

"Still . . . "

"_Still,_ if you hate it, we can, yes. But you won't."

"I will."

"We'll see."

She had her helmet on now and was climbing on, which was no easy feat, with her just-above-knee length dress. Klavier had already climbed on now and Vera was becoming painfully aware of how close she was to him. They were literally pushed against each other and and she was suddenly incredibly glad he couldn't see her face. She doubted it had ever been redder than at this moment.

"Okay, you'll have to put your arms around my waist else you could just fly straight off when I start driving."

"Klavier!" she exclaimed, shrilly. There was a laugh in his voice and something told her part of him was amused by how terrified she was.

"I'm only kidding, of course, but you'll still have to do it, for safety."

Not feeling hugely comfortable with either outcome she timidly wrapped her arms around his waist tightly and tried to focus on the fact that in perspective, while being this close to a guy she liked might be a little embarrassing and awkward, flying off a motorcycle would be far worse.

"Okay, hold tight."

He didn't need to tell her this. Her heart was hammering inside her chest for more than one reason.

"And go," the engine made a loud raucous noise as it started and she squealed slightly. "You okay?" he asked.

Glad he was taking this a little more seriously she nodded, "Um, yeah, I think so, just about."

"Okay then, here goes. Don't worry, I'll drive slowly and be extra, extra careful."

She would have thanked him, but she was sure if she attempted to make any kind of noise at this point, it would only come out as a shrill squeak again.

True to his word, he started at a slow pace, probably aware of just how tense she was and they trundled down the road carefully. Still feeling her heart hammering away she couldn't relax, but she got a little more confident as they gained some speed very gradually.

"How're you doing?" he asked her, raising his voice, aware the road noise drowned out her voice a little.

Swallowing nervously she whimpered slightly, but still replied, "Um, okay, I guess."

"Good to hear," he replied, "See, you might even start to like it after a while-"

"This restaurant isn't far, is it?" she cut across him, stammering slightly. Yes, she was getting mildly used to the feeling or terror, she was still a long way off enjoying herself.

He shook his head, or rather the helmet turned from side-to side in front her, "Nah, we're nearly there.

Once again, true to his word they quickly parked the motor-bike outside a fairly classy looking building with a sign on the front saying "Alimentaires Galerie".

_Oh, I guess it's a French place . . . too bad I don't know any, _she thought to herself, still revelling in how amazing it felt to be back on still ground.

"You're going love this place. I ate here just the other day and I thought of you- well, that is, I thought that it was the kind of place that you might like." He blushed slightly, but then grinned enthusiastically.

She smiled back at him as they walked towards the place. "It's looks lovely, whatever it is."

"Still got no idea?" he asked.

Shaking her head she replied, "No, I never learned any French . . . Dad didn't think that I needed to, really."

As they walked in she saw a room that would have been dark, had it not been for the dozens of fairy lights scattered around with many paintings on the walls. Some of the larger paintings were sectioned off by red rope and had small signs with information in front of them.

"Wow," she said, "Is this a restaurant which is also a gallery?" she asked, looking around, admiring the walls and beautiful atmosphere that was created by the fairy lights.

Klavier nodded, "Yeah, what do you think, I figured you'd like it, since you like art so much-"

"I love it," she replied, loving the fact that he'd chosen a place to eat that was so special. It was wonderful how he'd picked it according to her interests and she found the way he'd thought of her while eating a lovely thought.. "It's great, where do you want to sit?"

"Glad you like it and erm, wherever you like?" he replied, looking around at all the empty seats.

They decided to sit down at a table next to a rather abstract painting of the city. While it wasn't anything like the painting that she'd done of the city, she liked the style and the use of colour. "Most painters, while painting a city-scape go for a dark background and then set it off with vibrant colours. This person's brilliantly original. Instead they've honestly looked at what the city looks like at night. It's abstract...but not in a cartoon-ish way. It's just...honest. I love it." she said, not taking her eyes away from the painting once.

He nodded. Klavier didn't have a thing to say about. Sure, it was nice, but nothing he'd actually get excited about. It was obviously a good painting, done by a skilled artist, though.

"I like it...but I'm totally ignorant about art, so you'll have to excuse me." he agreed, a slight blush on his cheeks.

Her heart fluttered. It was odd; it suddenly hit her that she only truly felt confident when she talked about art. For the first time, she had more to say about something than Klavier did.

"Do you know what you want yet?" he cut across her train of thought.

Vera shook her head and glanced back down at the menu. She hadn't eaten much all day, feeling too nervous about the date and she'd felt too worried that she might start feeling sick if she ate a lot.

"It all looks great . . . um, do you know yet?" she wanted to buy herself a little more thinking time.

"The pasta, maybe?" he paused, "Yeah, I'll go for it."

"I might have that too." she said as he flagged a waitress down.

"Hey, I'm Lara, I'll be your waitress tonight" she paused and looked at them both, her eyes lingering on Klavier. Her hair was long and brunette and pulled out of her blue eyes into a pony tail with a few loose strands falling forward and Vera noticed her uniform did nothing nothing, other than highlight her perfectly proportionately slim, yet curvy figure. - hang on, aren't you?" her eyes widened, "Oh wow, you're Klavier Gavin, aren't you?"

Klavier looked more embarrassed than flattered and nodded awkwardly, "Err, yeah," he said, reluctantly. He'd hoped more than anything this wouldn't happen. With Vera there this wasn't going to do him any favours.

The girl quirked one half of her mouth upwards in what was possibly supposed to be a smile. A smile only directed at Klavier. Vera decided it was really more of a seductive smirk than anything. She didn't like this girl one bit.

"I really drew the long straw getting to serve this table, then." She watched Lara's eyes linger on Klavier for the perfect amount of time before turning to Vera. "So, what'll it be?" she asked, finally paying Vera attention, while Vera desperately tried to analyse Klavier's thoughts. His eyes had met hers for a moment, but his expression was hard to read. She rather hoped it was one of disinterest.

"Erm, I'll have four cheese and tomato pasta." she said, not tearing her eyes away from Klavier.

He looked up from his menu. "Same here, best wine you have on tonight as well, please."

"Wine!?" she said, in spite of herself. She blushed, feeling stupid. She probably looked immature enough in the waitress' eyes. Acting as though he'd suggested they drink absinthe probably wasn't the best idea whilst trying to look mature. What would be wrong with a little wine? She'd never tried it, but she was legal; why shouldn't she now?

"Yeah. Is that okay? Do you drink?" he said, looking embarrassed himself, now.

Vera smiled half-heartedly and the waitress smirked again. "First date, huh?"

Klavier ignored her and took Vera's hand, making her heart back-flip uncomfortably. "You can have water; anything you like."

Determined to handle the situation best as she could she looked up at the waitress, smiled sweetly and said, "The wine sounds great, thanks." Vera made a point now to take Klavier's other hand, now. For a moment, the smirk flickered. Lara nodded.

"Okay, we'll have everything ready soon as possible."

"Thanks." He said nodding, clearly dismissing her. Vera's heart lifted slightly; he didn't seem particularly interested in her at all.

She walked off, swaying her behind as she went and for a split second Klavier's eyes lingered on Lara.

She supposed he'd handled it all pretty well, which made sense. Surely this happened to him on an almost daily basis. She felt a buzz of excitement that it was her that he'd chosen to go out with her today.

"God, can you believe her? Forward or what?" he looked irritated, but had Vera caught the half-second when Klavier's eyes had flitted over to her as she'd walked away. Jealously boiled inside her stomach and she suddenly felt ill.

Because of this, conversation died down for a little while. Vera didn't say a lot, she couldn't stop picturing the way he'd looked, just for a moment. He'd never looked at her that way before. Vera didn't entirely understand what it was about the glance that she hadn't liked was...but she knew it was wrong to look at another woman that way whilst on a date.

The meals arrived fairly quickly, brought by a different waiter which pleased Vera to no end. Both dinners were delicious and they chatted about the art and then about other things they both enjoyed, just managing to raise Vera out of her low, Lara-related mood. It turned out Klavier hadn't always been such a rock God; in his younger years he'd dabbled in classical, even writing some folk music. He claimed the label hadn't been into it rock music had been the clear way to go.

She realised she couldn't be affronted for the entire night about the way he'd looked at Lara. In all honesty, as the night went on, she felt it wasn't his fault anyway. Hadn't he sort of lowered his standards by going out with her? And yes, these were the kinds of thought Trucy would probably shout at her for having, but they were true, weren't they?

It was still fun and she couldn't help but marvel over how easy it was to talk with him; the nervousness she'd felt at the beginning of the night had vanished as she now felt happiness at having the chance to do this with him, but sadness also. How was this honestly ever going to work out? Would _she_ ever be enough for him?

Eventually the meal came to an end and Klavier headed up to the counter to pay. Vera's eyes followed him up to the till and saw that much to her disappointment, the pretty waitress from earlier was running it.

The girl smiled at him as he approached; a smile he returned, but only courteously. She couldn't hear them, but she saw the way she said something and he laughed a little. The way she was looking at him, her desire concentrated and her flirtatious moves; she touched his arm and looked up through her lashes far more than necessary.

Vera had a feeling that Lara wasn't actually a very nice person, to put it simplistically. Trucy had always been adamant that if a guys clearly with a girl then you can look, but you can't touch _and you shouldn't flirt..._Vera added, irritably.

But she said nothing. What would she have said? "I don't like it that pretty fangirls flirt obviously with you while I'm standing right there." What could he do about it? He didn't exactly encourage her, no, but he didn't tell her to back off either.

And so she was quiet for the remainder of the date, dwelling on the problems they both faced. Vera said little as he drove her back to hers, even managing to not be overly vocal on Klavier's famous hog and he noticed.

It worried him.

_She's annoyed with me, only Vera barely gets annoyed, so instead she'd going act sadly and make me feel about one hundred times worse..._

Things got awkward on the doorstep, Vera couldn't take it so instead she mumbled "Do you want to come in for coffee or something?" which he nodded at and followed her into her kitchen as she walked off.

She began boiling the kettle and finally Klavier broke the silence.

"Vera, what's wrong? Did I do something? Have you changed your mind? Was it the waitress?" he asked, looking concerned.

She shrugged, "Sort of..."

"Which one?"

"I haven't changed my mind, I still like you; ever so much. As for the waitress-"

He cut across her, "She was forward and I'm sorry, but I swear you're the only one I'm interested in. She's so..."

"Pretty?" she asked, "Confident? Y-you should be like someone like that." she said, sadly, looking down. "Because those girls are always going to be the ones who know what you want deep down."

"If that's what you think I want then you're wrong. Those girls...they're all the same...brash, over-confident; the kind of girl who'd see a guy clearly on a date and flirt anyway. I don't want a fan-girl who judges me from what they see on that stage...Do you think that girl knows me? Do you think she knows what I went through with Kristoph? What kind of music I play when I'm not on stage?" he paused a little nervously, "Like I'd want someone like that...I want someone who's-

"-Boring? Plain?" she questioned him, believing every word.

He shook his head and looked her dead in the eye, his arm by her waist, resting on the kitchen side.

"Nice." he said, his words soft...

And then without so much of a warning he leant in a pressed his lips to hers. Her heart just about exploded after swelling inside her chest. It was a strange feeling; like the one she got inside her chest every time his blue eyes met her violet ones...only better.

"And pretty..." He kissed one cheek, "...and kind..." He kissed the other, "...and thoughtful." He kissed her lips again and she felt dizzy. "I'm sick of the rest. I just want..._you_."

"You're sure?" she just about managed to whisper.

He nodded, "This isn't going to be easy, but we'll get there, you know. You've come a long way; you've changed and I have too and it's because of you."

Klavier wasn't wrong; she had changed and not for the worse. He gave her everything that she needed- the confidence to be herself, support and maybe someday soon, true love?

She'd heard nice guys finish last; she'd just have to hope the same didn't apply to girls...

With Klavier at her side, Vera had a feeling she'd be just fine.

_**I'd just like to thank everyone who stuck with this; not my most popular fic and I know the pairing isn't wonderfully popular, but I enjoyed writing this and I hope others enjoyed reading it. Thank you, Missile.x :)**_


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